Posted on 08/21/2012 7:39:05 PM PDT by chessplayer
A physician and former president of the National Right to Life Committee, Willke was an important surrogate for Romneys 2008 presidential bid. Willke is the oft-cited source of the theory that rape-related pregnancies are rare. The theory is sometimes used by antiabortion advocates to argue that abortion laws should not contain exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.
Willke believes that trauma caused by violent rape causes a womans reproductive system to shut down. He presents this belief as fact in educational materials, including a book about abortion and a website called abortionfacts.com. Willkes views and his role in promoting a theory that has been widely rejected in modern medicine appear not to have concerned Romney in 2007, when he touted Willkes endorsement.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
It doesn’t matter how many times they hit us. Romney is going to promote his Mormonism at the convention. Unless Hurricane Issac stops it, Romney is going to sink his own ship. Obama is a shew in.
Of course it does....IF...Romney has ever held any political opponent responsible for words or deeds of supporters or sources
Santorum and Gingrich come to mind.
I have one question only...since you seem to support the ‘no exception’ rule when it comes to abortion, what do you tell a woman with a tubal pregnancy?
Rape related pregnancies are 1% of abortions. That’s rare. That figure comes from the Alan Guttmacher Institute. A wholly owned subsidiary of Planned Parenthood.
No, they are very rare.
Are there accurate numbers?
The Justice Dept., from 1973 to 1987, surveyed 49,000 households annually, asking questions on violence and criminal acts. The results of those reported were:
1973 completed rapes 95,934
1987 completed rapes 82,505
The study stated that only 53% were reported to police. Accordingly, the total numbers were: 1973 181,016 ; 1987 155,667
[The Washington Times, Jan. 14, 1991, A-5]
A more recent Justice Dept. report, using a study designed differently with more direct questions, returned a result of 170,000 completed rapes plus 140,000 attempted rapes.
Nat. Crime Victim Report, [US Justice Dept. Aug. 95, R. Bachman]
And how many pregnancies result?
About 1 or 2 for each 1000. Using the 170,000 figure, this translates into an overall total of 170 to 340 assault rape pregnancies a year in the entire United States.
Only one or two out of 1000? Please explain.
There are about 100 million women in the United States old enough to be at risk for assault rape. Lets use a figure of 200,000 forcible rapes every year. The studies available agree that there are no more than two pregnancies per 1,000 assault rapes.
So much for the numbers. Lets look at it from another angle and see if that figure makes sense.
- Of these 200,000 women who were raped, one-third were either too old or too young to get pregnant. That leaves 133,000 at risk of pregnancy.
- A woman is capable of being fertilized only three days out of her 30-day month. So divide 133,000 by 10, and 13,300 women remain.
- One-fourth of all women in the United States of child-bearing age have been sterilized. That drops the figure to 10,000.
- Only half of the assailants penetrate her body and/or deposit sperm. Cut it in half again. We are own to 5,000.
- Fifteen percent of men are sterile; that drops the figure to 4,250. Fifteen percent of non-surgically sterilized women are naturally sterile. That reduces the number to 3,600.
- Another 15% are on the pill and/or are already pregnant. Now the figure is 3,070. Now factor in something that all adults know. It takes from five to ten months for an average couple to achieve a pregnancy. Using the smaller figure, to be conservative, divide the 3,000 figure by 5, and the number drops to about 600.
In a healthy, peaceful marriage, the miscarriage rate ranges up to about 15%. In this case, we have incredible emotional trauma. Her body is upset. Even if she conceives, the miscarriage rate is higher than in a more normal pregnancy. If she loses 20% of 600, there are 450 left. Finally, we must factor in one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that is psychic trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get pregnant and stay pregnant, a womans body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain which is easily influenced by emotions. Theres no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy. So what further percentage reduction in pregnancy will this cause? No one really knows, but this factor certainly cuts the last figure by at least 50%, and probably more, leaving a final figure of 225 women pregnant each year, a number that closely matches the 200 found in clinical studies.
Ummm.... you mean similar to the way Obama's "You didn't build your business!" gaffe totally disappeared from the political radar in a few days?
Akin’s remarks were not malicious — bizarre, but certainly not Marxist.
So it was a set up by Willard to get rid of Conservative opposition in the Senate
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