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.
The check from Soros must have cleared his bank account.
Google Ann Richards / Clayton Williams if you want to see how this turns out.
Google Ann Richards / Clayton Williams if you want to see how this turns out.
Misspoke only works on the Left side of the street. I would assume as a Poster on FR you would know that as fact.
He had better get while the gettin’s good or Claire is a Senator until the day she dies.
I am so pleased that these idiots can’t wait to jump on any conservative for a badly worded expression. The Democrats have no problem doubling down on baby killing and all we hear is crickets. Clair and her minions will pump this for all it’s worth, but it still doesn’t change who Clair is nor does it give anybody reason to suck up to the democrats. Ya’ all just keep wearing those, our candidate must be perfect chains and the Dems will in deed have Ya’ all back in chains soon.
I am so pleased that these idiots can’t wait to jump on any conservative for a badly worded expression. The Democrats have no problem doubling down on baby killing and all we hear is crickets. Clair and her minions will pump this for all it’s worth, but it still doesn’t change who Clair is nor does it give anybody reason to suck up to the democrats. Ya’ all just keep wearing those, our candidate must be perfect chains and the Dems will in deed have Ya’ all back in chains soon.
Thanks for the info. Not enough time, won’t happen.
MO GOP Primary Results
US Senate
Todd Akin 217,404 36.05%
John Brunner 180,788 29.98%
Sarah Steelman 176,127 29.20%
Of course there is a double standard but why give an issue tot the left?
No; he is an idiot to bring something like this up. It is offensive and ignorant. Guarantee if a family member of his had this happen; he wouldn't have spoken this way.
From a practical political point of view it's amazing stupid.
In other words, less than 48 hours. And he's probably still in denial since he is, technically, correct. Although it's a terrible thing to say.
Ugh! Don’t know how this situation can be salvaged.
There are badly worded expressions (macaca, strategery, e.g.) and there are nuclear mushroom cloud worded expressions.
I would categorize this as one of the latter.
It was always extremely vexing the way the GOP would toss their own under the bus over the most minor, innocuous gaffes, as in the cases of George Allen (maccaca) and Trent Lott (the Thurmond comment). The GOP always folds like cowards the moment the scum in the media tried to do this, instead of fighting back. Always burns me up.
However, this comment by Aiken is really, REALLY awful. It’s already a wildly toxic thing to put the words “legitimate rape” together. That might constitute a gaffe, but it’s about as bad as a gaffe can be. But then, to add to it this: “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut the whole thing down” ... well, that’s ten times worse. An absolutely ghastly thing to say, especially politically. To many it carries the implication that a woman who is raped and a child conceived wasn’t actually a victim of a “legitimate rape.” Just sick. Even if Aiken likely just garbled his wording, what came out is just about as bad as it gets.
I don’t see how he can win. Not to mention, the Dems will be using this as effective ammo as part of their idiotic war-on-women theme, nationally. Damn, but I sure wish MO had taken Palin’s advice instead, and gone with Steelman! This is just putrid.
He gave Claire the one soundbite she can use over and over again. She could not have asked for anything better.
According to women interviewed by David Reardon of the Elliot Institute for his book, Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault, women who abort pregnancies caused by rape have a "more difficulty getting over the rape" than those women who carry the baby to term. The abortion is a second act of violence upon their bodies - one to which they, themselves, consent (unlike the rape).
It may take an ad featuring some of those women saying that about rape, but this could help expose another horrendous aspect of the abortion debate AND help Todd Akin win the Senate race in Missouri.
I’ve heard that as well, for decades, from very legitimate sources. Not sure how true it is, but he should explain.
Here's an update for you, FR Posters do not add up to one one hundredth of a percentage point of the Electorate. We here live Politics, discuss Politics, see the Media for what it is and we always look to the facts.
Most people do not do any of that. They believe what the Major News Outlets spoon feed them, day in and day out. How do you think this will turn out when the Democrat Media gasoline is poured on the fire?
This guy might be a moron, but his heart is in right place. Why punish the innocent baby for the crime of a rapist?
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