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The typical response is that pregnancy as a result of rape is very rare. The talking points, since John Wilke, MD, have been that the female body for some reason seems to have decreased chance of fertilization when violently forced. That is part of the point that says rape pregnancy is rare.

But when you use this argument, my inclination is to think what you are saying is "Well if a much higher rate of pregnancies were the result of rape, then there would be a case for abortion."

But when you use this argument, my inclination is to think what you are saying is "Well if a much higher rate of pregnancies were the result of rape, then there would be a case for abortion."

I'm not sure how familiar you are with abortion advocacy arguments, but *any* time even the slightest common-sense control on abortion is merely mentioned, many abortion advocates will start screeching about how cruel it is to force that poor little 13 year old incest victim to give birth to her stepfather's baby, or something like that.

Also, abortion was made legal on the basis of rape. Norma McCorvey did not sway the judges with a sob story about how she freely chose to become pregnant in a consensual relationship; she lied and said she was raped. (And she has repented for that lie; the child born of that pregnancy is still alive.)

Although he was clumsy in his argument, I think Todd Akin was trying to address the fact that much abortion advocacy still focuses on the rape angle, even though over 90% of abortions are committed on healthy babies of women who freely chose to become pregnant. There is probably a better way to express that argument, but I don't expect someone who is in the stressful situation of hostile questioning to be able to formulate it on the spot.

Even if only one baby is conceived because of rape, it still doesn’t justify killing it.

I can just see it now. Sidewalk counselors stop a woman going into an abortion clinic to talk her out of the abortion. The woman then says to the counselor that the baby is a result of rape, and the sidewalk counselor tells her, “Oh never mind. Go ahead and have your abortion.”

If you can only get an abortion because of rape, then guess what? Women wanting abortions will say that they have been raped. Maybe that’s what Akin was referring to when he used the term “legitimate rape”.

Since there isn’t a higher rate, that doesn’t even enter into the equation.

The purpose is to reassure that there is no reason to think this is other than a very rare event.

Good law is not based on exceptions.

If a town needs to redo ancient, blocked and broken sewer lines, it doesn’t base its decision on the few folks near the treatment plant who have an occasional odor.