Personhood Amendments

[deep]

trying to figure out the difference between legitimate rape and illegitimate rape

must have something to do with a married woman being required to fulfill her marital obligations.

[corianderstem]

Ask Whoopi Goldberg - she'll tell you all about "rape" vs "rape rape."

[deep]

[cobl04]

Having just watched the clip

Todd Akin on Rape and Abortion, The Jaco Report, 8/19/2012 - YouTube

I'm still fucking astounded that WOMEN'S HEALTH is being talked about BY TWO MEN. Do the producers of these shows ever think it might be a half-reasonable idea to get, y'know, a WOMAN to talk about WOMEN'S HEALTH? Fuck me.

Thankfully, he took to Facebook to explain himself.

Congressman Todd Akin just released the following statement regarding his interview on the "Jaco Report" broadcast this morning in St. Louis:

"As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve.

"I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election.

"But I also believe that this election is about a wide-range of very important issues, starting with the economy and the type of country we will be leaving our children and grandchildren. We've had 42 straight months of unacceptably high unemployment, trillion dollar deficits, and Democratic leaders in Washington who are focused on growing government, instead of jobs. That is my primary focus in this campaign and while there are those who want to distract from that, knowing they cannot defend the Democrats' failed economic record of the last four years, that will continue to be my focus in the months ahead."

What an upstanding man.

[Danny Boy]

He had to review his remarks to figure out he came across as a scientifically illiterate asshat?

Bullshit. He gave his honest extremist opinion and then saw how poorly it polled.

Friggin' politicians.

[Moonlit_Angel]

Originally Posted by Pearl

Republican Senate Nominee Explains That Women Don't Really Get Pregnant From 'Legitimate Rape'

I swear this country is going backwards. Its embarrassing to be an American whenever people like this Senator say such ignorant things.

Holy. Fuck.

WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE THIS GET A CHANCE TO BE PART OF OUR GOVERNMENT?

Originally Posted by cobl04

I'm still fucking astounded that WOMEN'S HEALTH is being talked about BY TWO MEN. Do the producers of these shows ever think it might be a half-reasonable idea to get, y'know, a WOMAN to talk about WOMEN'S HEALTH? Fuck me.

Yeah, this times a thousand. Can we PLEASE get some women to talk about this issue?

That guy needs to be slapped across the face. Hard. What a complete and total asshole.

(But no, this isn't at all an attack on women's rights, or anything. Nope. Perfectly normal, rational comments )

[Pearl]

I just can't believe there are men out there who honestly believe they are the guardians of women's bodies, and probably womanhood as well. This is the friggin' Stone Age here! And America is supposed to be an advanced society? I don't get it...

Oh yeah, his Facebook "apology" was far from it. He barely explained where he got his views from or justified them. He totally danced around the issue and mentioned the economy in hopes of getting people to forget what he said. Not a chance with me!

[PhilsFan]

I am feeling optimistically confident that most on the right will distance themselves from this guy. There is no real defense of this that I can see, and the view is not one embraced by the GOP. This is fringe politics. This is not the debate.

[Moonlit_Angel]

I feel optimistic, too. I hope you're right.

Pearl, yeah, I don't get it, either. If any man is going to be involved in this sort of a decision, it will be the guy I am with, if I ask his thoughts and he wishes to be involved for support or whatever, and my doctor, if they are a male, and we're talking over all my options. And that's it. Beyond that, it is nobody else's fucking business.

[Pearl]

It's not only the abortion and contraceptives debate that is boggling my mind - its also female sexuality in general.

I don't mean to derail the thread here if I do, but I just want to bring up something. A few days ago, I came across an article on abstinence-only sex-ed classes - which unfortunately are common in America - and from there started looking into the abstinence movement and why women choose to wait until their wedding night to have sex. Now, I have no problem if a woman chooses to wait until marriage. That's her decision, not mine. But I can't help but notice some young women make that decision based on the belief that unchaste women are used goods, and its make a man feel good that he was her first, and crazy stuff like that. Plus, the abstinence movement focuses on girls, hardly ever boys. Furthermore, I was reading a forum where women discussed being virgins until marriage and how they had no regrets, and this one woman said that her husband - who was also a virgin until marriage - was not the first boy that she kissed. She actually said she regrets that fact, especially since her husband is really upset that he was not her first kiss. What the hell? Seriously, what the hell is going on here? Its stories like these that make me embarrassed to be an American.

Hey, Aussies, Brits, Kiwis and Canucks! (if its OK I call you that ) Got any insane patriarchal stories for us Yanks? It would make this one feel so much better.

[cobl04]

This is one of the few I can think of off the top of my head. Tony Abbott warns women against sex before marriage | The Australian

[Moonlit_Angel]

The part where he was asked about his daughters' sexual choices really creeped me out. I get what they were trying to do with that, the whole "Would you say this if it were your own kids?" and whatnot, but still...that's really personal information, people.

And that's what I really don't get about this whole thing. I think everyone can agree at least that when you have sex, it's important to make sure everyone is being safe and healthy about it.

But beyond that, I do NOT understand why people think this is an issue they need to pry into so deeply. What I do with my sex life is my own business. Not yours. If I want to use contraception, I will. If I don't want to wait until I'm married, that is my choice. If I do want to wait, that is my choice. I honestly do not care one way or another what a priest or a politician thinks about my love life, that is absolutely none of their concern. I'd like to think they have more pressing matters to worry about than people's bedroom activities.

Again, I agree with Pearl. We need to get rid of the shame and stigma about this issue. And we get such conflicting messages. It's important to wait until you're married so you can be "pure" enough, but at the same time, once people find out you're a virgin, you get made fun of, or you're seen as a "challenge" instead of a legitimate sex partner, only to pften be discarded afterwards. It's like you can't win either way.

To say nothing of how incredibly creepy the "purity ring/promise" stuff is that some abstinence-only educations try and put in. I have absolutely no problem with discussing abstinence as an option, it's a worthwhile thing to discuss.

But it shouldn't be the ONLY option discussed. I don't want to say we're slaves to our hormones or whatever, I do think people are capable of control and all that. But at the same time, people are going to have sex. It is a natural, normal function. Not everyone wants to wait. Not everyone plans to get married, or even if they do, they may not find that "special person". So to tell people, "Well, just wait until you're married to have sex, and don't use protection, problem solved!" is highly, highly unrealistic and naive and, as has often been shown, doesn't work one bit as legitimate sex education.

[Pearl]

Originally Posted by cobl04

This is one of the few I can think of off the top of my head. Tony Abbott warns women against sex before marriage | The Australian

Thank you for this. At least the U.S. is not the only country with leaders who have unrealistic views on sex and women.

Also, his view that women should see their virginity as a gift to their husbands is misogynist and trumps the belief that women should be serving men's egos at all times.

[cobl04]

While he's reneged since, he wrote in a 70s uni paper that he didn't think women would ever be considered equal to men.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Just disgusting, not to mention completely ignorant about basic biology.


NY Times

August 19, 2012

Senate Candidate Provokes Ire With ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comment

By JOHN ELIGON and MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an effort to explain his stance on abortion, Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri, provoked ire across the political spectrum on Sunday by saying that in instances of what he called “legitimate rape,” women’s bodies somehow blocked an unwanted pregnancy.

Asked in an interview on a St. Louis television station about his views on abortion, Mr. Akin, a six-term member of Congress who is backed by Tea Party conservatives, made it clear that his opposition to the practice was nearly absolute, even in instances of rape.

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

The comments, made during an interview with KTVI-TV that was posted on Sunday on the station’s Web site, provoked howls of outrage from Democrats and women’s rights organizations. Senator Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who will face Mr. Akin in the November election, immediately took to Twitter with a blunt response. “As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases,” she wrote, “I’m stunned by Rep Akin’s comments about victims this AM.”

Mr. Akin quickly backtracked from his taped comments, saying he “misspoke.”

“In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview, and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year,” Mr. Akin, who has a background in engineering and is a member of the House science committee, said in a statement. “I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life, and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.”

The Republican presidential ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan was quick to distance itself from Mr. Akin’s remarks.

“Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement,” the campaign said. “A Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.”

[Pearl]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

Which doctors told him this, if he actually spoke to any? Did he do any real research, or did he read off the wall blogs and those crappy articles from Yahoo Contributor Network or Suite101?

And what does he mean by legitimate rape? I dare him to explain further.

Ugh, I can go on forever about how much Akin disgusts me.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Maybe he saw it on You Tube

It just makes me furious that there's even ONE guy like that making decisions about my body and my health and my rights. At least know about basic biology, and who the f are you to decide what legitimate rape is. Is that a trademarked term, legitimate rape?

[MrsSpringsteen]

Even if it's only for political purposes (no doubt at least some of it is), I still applaud him for it. I don't question at all his feelings about it as a husband and father.

boston.com

US Senate Race , Politics
Scott Brown calls on Akin to drop out of Missouri Senate race

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

In a rare intra-party rebuke, Senator Scott Brown called on Missouri Representative Todd Akin this morning to withdraw from the US Senate race in his state, after Akin made controversial remarks on rape.

“As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin’s comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong,” Brown, a fellow Republican, said in a statement. “There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking. Not only should he apologize, but I believe Rep. Akin’s statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri.”

Brown may be the first prominent Republican to call for Akin’s resignation from the race.

[Pearl]

I'd like to see Akin resign from the nomination, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he does not. After all, he didn't fully apologize and didn't explain himself thoroughly.

But yes, kudos to Scott Brown.

[trojanchick99]

Apparently this troglodyte is on the House Science and Technology Committee. The hell? I wonder if his views on the abacus are as progressive as his views on biology.