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.
1 in 20 is not a big chance, but it's an awfully dumb thing to say. Akin should bug out, and fast. Not that he will. But he should.
I’m kinda curious about that. I haven’t read the MO statute (though I have the link but, well, just don’t wanna), and I have been hearing various interpretations. A good question you pose.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
So apparently there was a reason Sarah Palin backed Sarah Steelman. Who’d a thunk it?
And it seems that about half of we Freepers won’t buy an explanation from him. You know you need to step down when.
THis isn’t small. This is HUGE and without excuse. I don’t want this pea brain anywhere near the Tea Party.
This reminds me of the Allen "maccaca" flap that he handled so badly. The Washington Post mentioned it on a daily basis for over a month. It appeared in all sections of the newspaper one way or another. Allen kept on apologizing, which made things worse. Why are Reps so eager to eat their own? The Dems protect their people.
Yawn. This has got to be the ultimate tempest in a tea pot. I was expecting to see something truly offensive here, but the guy just fumbled his answer a bit. Big deal.
I am more offended that we have added $16 Trillion to our National Debt and have nothing to show for it.
I am more offended that this country has been downgraded under this administration, supported strongly by this poor excuse of a Senator MaKasKill.
I am more offended that this MaKasKill voted to kill Seniors by voting for ObamaCare.
I am disgusted that retired SEALs, SpecOps and CIA officers have to form PACs to protect the lives of our service men because of Obama and MaKasKill.
I am more offended that dumb ass women fall for this bull shit and vote Dummycrat because of it. It does not matter what a Senator feels about abortion. It is the law of the land. Period.
What he said was very toxic. Hope he does the right thing and exits quick, there is no fixing this.
GOP is too weak this election cycle in many(if not all)local-state-federal races.
You posted while I was still researching; sorry for the duplicate. We both found the same material.
Pregnancy resulting from FORCIBLE rape was .5 to 5% when I was on the Speakers Bureau for Right to Life in the 70’s and 80’s.
Forcible rape did not include date or statutory rapes in it’s data.
IIRC...
In 1988 Guttmacher surveyed women seeking abortions and found that .5% said they did so due to rape and incest.
The 5% was a extrapolation by Dr Wilke based on a number of factors, fertility etc.
Pandora’s Project a rape support group reports...Some statistics report that conception as a result of rape occurs in less than one percent of cases, while other
studies indicate higher figures such as 4.7%. They speculate that the number may be higher as some women may not report.
A 1996 syudy by the NIH found The national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims of reproductive age (aged 12 to 45); among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year. Among 34 cases of rape-related pregnancy, the majority occurred among adolescents and resulted from assault by a known, often related perpetrator. Only 11.7% of these victims received immediate medical attention after the assault, and 47.1% received no medical attention related to the rape. A total 32.4% of these victims did not discover they were pregnant until they had already entered the second trimester; 32.2% opted to keep the infant whereas 50% underwent abortion and 5.9% placed the infant for adoption; an additional 11.8% had spontaneous abortion.
Akin was born in New York City, the son of Nancy Perry (née Bigelow) and Rev. Paul Bigelow Akin. He moved to St. Louis and attended John Burroughs School. After graduating, he attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts where he earned a degree in management engineering, and in 1984 he earned a Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. During college he was member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
From 1972 to 1980, Akin served in the Missouri National Guard. After his military career, he took up work at IBM as an engineer and later became a manager at Laclede Steel Company.
Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1988, representing Town and Country and much of West County. He won re-election in 1990 (59%), 1992 (100%), 1994 (70%), 1996 (67%), and 1998 (66%). 12 years in the state house, Akin voted for carrying concealed weapons, voted against the parks and soils sales tax, voted against the 1993 tax increase and education spending increase. Akin sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers. In 1995, he fought Democrat Governor Mel Carnahan on state-funding for abortion, which Akin opposed.
In 2000, Republican U.S. Representative Jim Talent vacated the seat in his unsuccessful run for Governor of Missouri. Akin won a closely contested Republican primary election to replace Talent, defeating former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary and State Senator Franc Flotron. He defeated Democratic State Senator Ted House in the general election, winning 55 percent of the vote. He never faced another contest even that close, and was reelected five times.
In 2010, Akin won re-election with 67.9% of the vote. He had been challenged for the seat by Democratic nominee Arthur Lieber, Libertarian nominee Steve Mosbacher, and write-in candidate Patrick M. Cannon.
Akin has a lifetime ACU rating of 97.24. We need more "pea brains" in Congress like Akin.
They could randomly pick one of the mail boys at the state GOP HQ and it would be an improvement over this loser. If he stays on the ticket, this will be only the first of many idiot maneuvers to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
If he doesn’t go fast enough to salavage the chance of picking up the seat, the GOP needs to throw him out.
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