Posted on 08/23/2012 7:40:36 PM PDT by hecht
Statement on Rape and Pregnancy
August 20, 2012
Washington, DC -- Recent remarks by a member of the US House of Representatives suggesting that “women who are victims of ‘legitimate rape’ rarely get pregnant” are medically inaccurate, offensive, and dangerous.
Each year in the US, 10,000–15,000 abortions occur among women whose pregnancies are a result of reported rape or incest. An unknown number of pregnancies resulting from rape are carried to term. There is absolutely no veracity to the claim that “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” A woman who is raped has no control over ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg (ie, pregnancy). To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.
Any person forced to submit to sexual intercourse against his or her will is the victim of rape, a heinous crime. There are no varying degrees of rape. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and insulting and minimizes the serious physical and psychological repercussions for all victims of rape.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of approximately 56,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org
Ahhh -- the qualifier "reported". So then this is just a box that they check to get Medicaid to pay for it with no police/medical report accompanying it.
How many of these are statutory rapes that the abortion clinic should be reporting to the police but doesn't???
“i dont know a single woman that had an abortion, but I dont know a single woman that was not offended by his idiocy.”
Same here, and its a shame, we had the seat won and now because of one egotistical politician I will have to hear McCaskill for 6 more years.
Maybe its getting late, and some of these people’s brains are operating at full capacity.Ruh-roh!
i dont know a single woman that had an abortion, but I dont know a single woman that was not offended by his idiocy.Women talk about their abortions about as frequently as they describe the contents of their vomit. It just isn't usually discussed, and with good reason.
mlizzy,
He has alienated hundreds of thousands of women who were GOING to vote for him. They don’t want McCaskill, but now they can’t vote for Akin, so they most likely won’t vote for the senate seat at all and that is the shame.
people speak to doctors about things they don’t tell others.
“Women talk about their abortions about as frequently as they describe the contents of their vomit.”
You really have a distorted view of life don’t you.
He has alienated hundreds of thousands of women who were GOING to vote for him. They don’t want McCaskill, but now they can’t vote for Akin, so they most likely won’t vote for the senate seat at all and that is the shame.Any woman that is offended by a man that sticks up for life and women, is a progressive type lady, not a true conservative. And where do you get your figures of hundreds of thousands?
Go down to your nearest abortion clinic and then tell us what you know and don't know.
You really have a distorted view of life don’t you.If you think being a pro-life advocate is distorted, maybe that's part of your issue with Akin.
“And where do you get your figures of hundreds of thousands?”
Before this broke, Akin, and all Rep challengers were beating McCaskill by almost double digit numbers.
Now he trails her by 10 pts. That is at least a 15% point drop and that equates to a large number of women who were going to vote for him, but now are not.
“If you think being a pro-life advocate is distorted”
There is a difference between being an advocate, and being distorted.
That’s not true. Akin has done poorly before this too.
“Akin has done poorly before this too.”
Explain.
There is a difference between being an advocate, and being distorted.It's been a real slice talking abortion with you. I hope someday you change your mind and support gallant men like Akin (Huckabee, Perkins, Jindal, Santorum, etc.) for when Christ comes a knockin' it would be best if you answered your door, instead of running for the hills like a man on fire. Go, Todd, Go!
Hundreds of thousands of female voters that where going to vote for him now will not? That seems excessive to me, after all there are only about 4 million REGISTERRED voters in MO. Of those fifty percent DON”T VOTE making around 2 million ACTIVE voters. Of those we can assume that at least 1/2 are women making around 1 million ACTIVE Women voters in MO.
Maybe, just maybe, you should dial back the hyperbole just a bit!
“Maybe, just maybe, you should dial back the hyperbole just a bit!”
Maybe a bit, but it still doesn’t change the fact that Akin has alienated a large segment of his pre interview support, and my contention is they won’t be coming back and without their votes Akin loses.
Notice the wording. Reported, not confirmed.
False Rape Accusations May Be More Common Than Thought
If the foregoing results can be extrapolated, then the rate of false reports is roughly between 20 (if DNA excludes an accused) to 40 percent (if inconclusive DNA is added). The relatively low estimate of 25 to 26 percent is probably accurate, especially since it is supported by other sources.
That's a lot of false reports.
There is absolutely no veracity to the claim that “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” A woman who is raped has no control over ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg (ie, pregnancy). To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.
A misleading statement!
Look at what was said again...
Charles Jaco:
Okay, so if an abortion can be considered in the case of, say, tubal pregnancy or something like that, what about in the case of rape? Should it be legal or not?
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.):
Well, you know, uh, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, ‘Well, how do you – how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question.’
It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
Nobody was talking about a woman "controlling" ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg! They were talking about an abortion well after it was discovered the woman was pregnant.
You can't have an abortion until well after ovulation and the fertilization of an egg!
Once again...
Raised Cortisol Predicts Spontaneous Abortion
High urinary levels of the stress hormone cortisol are a marker for early pregnancy loss, US researchers have found.
Surely the ACOG isn't saying that a spontaneous abortion can't take place after fertilization are they? To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.
“It’s been a real slice talking abortion with you”
That is the point, I was talking politics and you are advocating an abortion position and somewhere Akin got in the middle.
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