“Posted on 08/21/2012 2:53:18 PM PDT by NYer
Rebecca Kiessling, a pro-life attorney from Michigan, fully understands the national debate going on concerning the controversial comments Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin made about abortion and rape. Kiessling was conceived when her mother was victimized by a rapist.
“It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, if it’s a legitimate rape, that’s really rare. The female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said. “The punishment ought to be on the rapist, and not in attacking the child.”
Kiessling responded to the comments saying that the use of the term “legitimate rape” was unnecessary and improper and she gave her advice for how pro-life candidates can thoughtfully and articulately address the sensitive subject of rape and abortion.
“
First of all — never say ‘legitimate rape,’” Kiessling said. “Ron Paul used the same terminology last January and he got lambasted for it too. This kind of remark only serves to perpetuate the suspicion of rape victims’ accounts. It’s estimated that only 1% of rape victims ever see their rapist convicted as charged. Rape is rape. “Legitimate rape” almost sounds as if it was somehow justifiable.”
“If you are 100% pro-life with no rape exceptions, there is no need to question the veracity of a rape victims’ account, because you are against all abortions. It would not matter if a woman was not or not raped,” she continued.
While abortion advocates often talk about supporting a woman’s right to privacy, Kiessling says rape exceptions in abortion laws turn that notion on its head.
“Rape exceptions in the law actually put the government in the position of having to ascertain when the child was conceived, who the father is, whether the child was conceived during the alleged rape or during intercourse with her husband or boyfriend, and if the child was conceived during the time frame of the alleged rape, then the government would need to determine whether the sexual intercourse was consensual or not,” she explained. “So rape exceptions serve to perpetuate the injustice against rape victims that their accounts are to be viewed with skepticism, and it further leaves the majority of impregnated rape victims wholly unprotected under the law. Rape exceptions suggest that a “real rape victim” couldn’t possibly love “the rapist’s baby” and that rape victim mothers don’t exist.”
The pro-life attorney says pro-life candidates need to be coached on how to answer the media’s inevitable question.
“Senator Rick Santorum, during his presidential campaign, said that he thinks that a child conceived in rape is “a gift from God,” and he was made fun of for that. Just Google images for “Santorum rape” and you’ll see all of the posters where he is mocked for this statement. While I believe it’s true that every child is a gift from God, including children conceived in rape, I don’t believe this was the best response for the interview,” she explained. “If it had been my birthmother sharing that she believes that I’m a blessing and a gift from God, she would not be mocked and ridiculed in the same way he was. And then Sharron Angle, during her Senate race in Nevada, said it’s a “lemonade situation,” which did not come across well at all. The problem is not with these candidates’ values. The problem is how they express them.”
Kiessling gives a three-step process in terms of how candidates should answer the question:
1. The Supreme Court has said that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment for rapists and that rapists don’t deserve the death penalty. I don’t think the innocent child conceived in rape deserves the death penalty for the crimes of her father. It seems to me that is cruel and unusual punishment.
2. Rape victims are four times more likely to die within the next year after the abortion, with a higher rate of suicide, murder, drug overdose, etc.. As someone who really cares about rape victims, I want to protect them from the rapist, and from the abortion, and not the baby. A baby is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a rape victim — an abortion is. We need to educate the American public on the truth in this matter and not make public policy based on myth and misinformation.
3. Rape victims choose abortion at half the rate of the average unplanned pregnancy, which is over 50%. Only 15-25% of rape victims choose abortion, depending on the study. The majority of rape victims choose to raise her child — not “the rapist’s baby” — HER child.
Of course, I also think it helps to share a personal story and there are lots available, of women who became pregnant by rape and either regret aborting, are raising their children or are birth-moms, as well as stories of those of us conceived in rape and/or incest. You can find those stories on my website: www.rebeccakiessling.com/Othersconceivedinrape.html and www.rebeccakiessling.com/PregnantByRape.html
Legally, not all “rape is rape”. Forced rape is rape. Statuatory rape is mostly an illegality based on state law of consent.
She should run for office.
Oh oh...I feel a nubular power-zot coming on.
That’s why I don’t get the defenders here that he just “misspoke.”
No. He misunderstands basic biology! He correctly spoke of his misapprehension!
Far more damaging than a rhino is the totalitarian dictating to rape victims. Those failing to see the aftershock of this transgression won’t know what hit them.
As if being stuck with the mittney disaster was not enough, we now have an even bigger problem.
She has a mouthful of mashed potatoes, and is about to do the John Belushi “human zit”.
Wow. I respect this woman immensely! She is so brave! She has no counterpart on the liberal side of the aisle. Conservative lawmakers should embrace her!
Does the father get a vote, how about the baby?
They most certainly will. The image of a Presbeterian minister voting to force rape victims to accept and nuture a completely unwanted pregnancy at gun point is absolutely repulsive and so is calling a rape victim that chooses to prevent the pregnancy a murderer. I think folks would rather put a clothes pin on their nose, close their eyes and vote ugly before they'd vote for repulsive.
Rape is a terrible crime alright. But murder is orders of magnitude worse. 9 months of huge inconvenience vs death.
HEY! I know...
How about the Aiken campaign just tells everyone that CLAY Akien has replaced Todd on the ballot.
Since he’s gay...all the Dems will vote for him, right?
/sarc
“I understand that there is no logic in allowing a baby to be terminated because he was conceived in rape. It is not his fault. I also have a real personal problem condemning a woman to a life-changing pregnancy and 18-years of child-rearing that she truly had absolutely no option to refuse. It also is not her fault.
Unfortunately, life presents situations with absolutely no good answer. This is one of them. It is possible that “choice” is the best of two awful options.”
Ahhhh. But there ARE more than 2 options...and a “good answer” to boot. How about the baby lives, and the mother is not “punished” with a baby. Adoption is a wonderful option, yet you do not even mention it!
The father's a rapist. Kill him.
" how about the baby?"
It's note a baby, it's an unwanted embryo.
There may be a proper term for it, but:
1) A girl is in an abortion clinic and uses "rape" as an excuse.
2) A girl does the wild thing and her father finds out, she says she was raped.
Maybe rape needs to be treated as a serious crime, and promiscuous consentual sex needs to be re-stigmatized,
Principle is one thing. One can state principle without mentioning some partly backed science about how a woman shuts it down. He could have simply said “I don’t support killing a baby regardless of the circumstance”. Problem solved.
Those aren't viable tomatoes, why they're still hanging on the vine.
An embryo is just the youngest stage of life for a given species. A pig embryo is the youngest form of pig. A horse embryo is the youngest form of horse. A human embryo is just the youngest form of human. One of my law teachers used to talk about the ideological power of categories. Move the baby from “child” to “embryo,” and suddenly you can kill him with impunity. That’s not science. That’s just word games, with murderous consequences.
It's the owner's decision whether they're wanted and it's also the owner's decision whether or not to leave them hanging there, or to rip up the whole plant and toss it in the compost heap.
He didn’t lie. He’s standing up for the unborn in all circumstances.
I really appreciated this article. It had some wonderful facts that I’ll be able to make use of in the next couple of months, I’m sure.
I’m glad he stayed in the race. I sure didn’t want some old retread being picked for me. I have an idea. Instead of continuing in doom and gloom mode, why don’t we rally around him? I think that is a far better option than freaking out and declaring the seat lost already. CM is worth beating. Todd is the nominee so I’m going to support him.
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