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Missouri: Todd Akin’s ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comment Ignites Firestorm
Roll Call ^ | 8/19/12 | Meredith Shiner

Posted on 08/19/2012 6:57:25 PM PDT by randita

Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri, justified his opposition to all abortion, even in instances of rape, by saying that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancy — comments that have set off a media firestorm in an already contentious race.

In an interview with a St. Louis television station posted today, Akin said that female bodies “[have] ways to try to shut that whole thing down” and that only rapists, and not unborn children, should be punished.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV, in an interview first reported nationally by Talking Points Memo. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something,” Akin continued. “I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

Akin has since issued a statement saying he “misspoke” but did not reverse his position on abortion in the case of rape or incest, nor did he dispute the medical claims he made by citing doctors.

“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,” Akin said in the 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. 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.”

Akin’s opponent, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, issued a statement calling Akin’s remarks incomprehensible and “offensive.”

“It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape,” McCaskill said. “The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive.”

Earlier this month, McCaskill and her Democratic allies spent more than $1 million in Missouri’s Republican primary, according to the Sunlight Foundation, trying to boost the conservative Akin, largely viewed as the most politically vulnerable candidate in a state primed for a GOP pickup.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Missouri
KEYWORDS: akin; mo2012
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To: Impy; randita; Clintonfatigued; fieldmarshaldj; no dems; Kaslin; perfect_rovian_storm

Oops, it wasn’t Tim Hutchison in the 2002 Senate race who made the rape-pregnancy statement, it was Fay Boozman (also a Republican from NW Arkansas whose brother served in Congress) in the 1998 Senate race against Blanche Lincoln. Hutchinson lost in 2002 because he had an extramarital affair, not because he said anything particularly stupid. Sorry about that.


121 posted on 08/20/2012 8:06:57 AM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (If a politician won't protect innocent babies, what makes you think that he'll protect your rights?)
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To: sometime lurker
Did you read what I wrote? It is a documented fact, look it up.

"When more than one man has sex with a woman in a short period of time, she has within her sperm from different men. The goal of the sperm is to fertilize the egg. This is the reason for their existence. But when sperm from different partners are all placed in the same vagina, the sperm from each man groups together and does battle against the other groups of sperm. The winner gets to fertilize the egg."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2793722

Now which sperm is going to win? The one that gets reinforcements nightly or the greatly out numbered sperm of the rapist?

122 posted on 08/20/2012 8:24:37 AM PDT by jpsb
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To: randita
It may be even worse than that. Two words: Mark Foley

My thoughts exactly. This idiot just provided a face on which to hang all the worst Democratic Party caricatures of Republicans.

123 posted on 08/20/2012 9:27:56 AM PDT by Inconvenient Truthteller
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To: jpsb

Please enough pseudo science. You do realize that what you posted is part of a scam advertisement?

Your article culminates with: If you want to learn more about creating an army of sperm that can beat out your competition, read IRON MAN PENIS - THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM and begin to Enlarge Your Life. Link removed by me, Melas.

For something a bit more scientific, try this one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1690463/pdf/10643078.pdf


124 posted on 08/20/2012 9:37:34 AM PDT by Melas (u)
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Comment #125 Removed by Moderator

Comment #126 Removed by Moderator

To: Melas

I can find a better source, just did a quick google, but yall kick jerking liberals have already won. Once again PC beats truth, enjoy the world you are building.


127 posted on 08/20/2012 1:34:53 PM PDT by jpsb
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To: jpsb

So I’m a liberal because I pointed out that you tried to pass off a Russian killer sperm and penis enlargement ad off as science? Lol!


128 posted on 08/20/2012 1:49:01 PM PDT by Melas (u)
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To: Melas
Nature, one of the most respected science journals on planet Earth

"Among the extraordinary adaptations driven by sperm competition is the cooperative behaviour of spermatozoa1. By forming cooperative groups, sperm can increase their swimming velocity and thereby gain an advantage in intermale sperm competition1, 2. Accordingly, selection should favour cooperation of the most closely related sperm to maximize fitness3. Here we show that sperm of deer mice (genus Peromyscus) form motile aggregations, then we use this system to test predictions of sperm cooperation. We find that sperm aggregate more often with conspecific than heterospecific sperm, suggesting that individual sperm can discriminate on the basis of genetic relatedness. Next, we provide evidence that the cooperative behaviour of closely related sperm is driven by sperm competition. In a monogamous species lacking sperm competition, Peromyscus polionotus, sperm indiscriminately group with unrelated conspecific sperm. In contrast, in the highly promiscuous deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, sperm are significantly more likely to aggregate with those obtained from the same male than with sperm from an unrelated conspecific donor. Even when we test sperm from sibling males, we continue to see preferential aggregations of related sperm in P. maniculatus. These results suggest that sperm from promiscuous deer mice discriminate among relatives and thereby cooperate with the most closely related sperm, an adaptation likely to have been driven by sperm competition."

129 posted on 08/20/2012 2:20:48 PM PDT by jpsb
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To: jpsb

That’s better, but really tells us nothing. As the article clearly states there exists competitive and non-competitive sperm in nature. While this article tells us deer mice have competitive sperm, it tells us nothing about the subject at hand: Human sperm.


130 posted on 08/20/2012 2:55:06 PM PDT by Melas (u)
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To: Impy; randita; AuH2ORepublican; fieldmarshaldj; no dems; Kaslin; perfect_rovian_storm; Sun; ...

When Todd Akin won the nomination, I feared that something like this would happen. I don’t believe Akin is a hater or misogynist, but he’s certainly guilty of being inept. In a way, Akin has lived in a political bubble, always running in safely Republican affluent neighborhoods and never facing a competitive general election, so he’s never had to watch what he said. This is one of the reasons I supported Sarah Steelman, who in spite of her flaws has won competitive general elections (and is quite a beauty, as well). I hoped that I would prove wrong about Akin. Sometimes, there is no joy in being proven right.


131 posted on 08/20/2012 3:14:26 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (Obama and Company lied, the American economy died)
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To: Melas

Your article is from 1999, and some what inconclusive. This is a new area of research, we shall see if human sperm is competitive or not. My only point was that the “science is not settled”. And those saying it is settled, that human females have no defenses against unwanted sperm violently injected into them could be wrong.


132 posted on 08/20/2012 3:19:16 PM PDT by jpsb
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To: Tzar
It doesn't matter if he was “right” or not. The comment was ignorant if not completely idiotic. If this guy didn't know his comments wouldn't be handing the Democrats the Election, he has no business in Politics. If you can't explain how you misspoke in one clarifying sentence, you only dig the hole deeper and deeper with every additional word.

What Whoopie Goldberg said means absolutely nothing. She is a Liberal Woman, not a Conservative MAN who is trying to unseat a Senator who happens to be a Liberal Woman.

As another Poster said, this guy is radioactive. Any Republican who keeps trying to make excuses for this Idiot will end up glowing in the dark.

133 posted on 08/20/2012 4:47:14 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Republicans Hope people are Smart, but Democrats Know people are Stupid.)
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To: AuH2ORepublican; LS; fieldmarshaldj; randita; Clintonfatigued

Right, I knew I didn’t hear that about Tim Hutch. Just about his affair. Didn’t his ex-wife back Pryor or something? Nasty.

As for Akin’s medical theory which I’ve never heard of before, it sounds like a nonsense old wives tale to me.


134 posted on 08/20/2012 5:14:23 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Well you were 100% right, I thought you were being obtuse.

I would have voted for this schmuck if I were a MO primary voter. I hope his prayers are answered in a way that doesn’t screw over the country.


135 posted on 08/20/2012 5:18:16 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: Impy

I knew it had been one of the Arkansas Senate races that we lost for some stupid reason, and I knew it was the less intelligent of a pair of Republican brothers in NW Arkansas, but I misremembered the family.

BTW, I still think that Asa Hutchinson should be in the Senate despite his brother Tim’s screw-up; if John Boozman could get elected in a landslide despite his brother Fay’s stupid rape-pregnancy statement from 12 years before (while running against the same woman who beat her brother: Blanche Lincoln), then Asa can beat Pryor in 2014 despite Asa’s brother having betrayed his constituents’ confidence and having lost to Pryor 12 years before.


136 posted on 08/20/2012 5:41:44 PM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (If a politician won't protect innocent babies, what makes you think that he'll protect your rights?)
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To: AuH2ORepublican; randita; Clintonfatigued; fieldmarshaldj; GOPsterinMA; BillyBoy

Well that explains why that 1998 race was a blowout for Lincoln.

And if that’s the only reason it wasn’t close....Akin better fing quit. Why does the deadline have to be TOMORROW.

The number of Senate races that have been stolen or BLOWN or punted on (when popular candidates won’t run) is staggering. We could have 67 damn seats instead of 47.


137 posted on 08/20/2012 7:54:56 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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