Rep. Todd Akin has now made three separate radio appearances and cut a 30-second ad to apologize for his comments about rape. And yet, he still appears determined to hold onto that distinction between "legitimate rape" and other types of rape that helped get him in so much trouble in the first place. And among social conservatives, he’s far from alone.
Asked Monday by Mike Huckabee whether by “legitimate rape” he might have meant “forcible rape,” Akin grasped the lifeline with both hands. “I was talking about forcible rape,” he said. “I used the wrong word.” In other words, Akin still wants to distinguish between a violent rape and, say, a drunken date rape. And Huckabee seemed eager to support that distinction.
It’s not just them. Rep. Ron Paul recently used an equally peculiar phrase to get at the same idea. If Paul’s daughter or grand-daughter were raped, CNN’s Piers Morgan asked him in February, would he force her to have the child? “No, if it’s an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room,” the Texas lawmaker replied (itals ours).
So: “Legitimate rape,” “forcible rape,” “honest rape”—what’s going on here? What’s with this strange GOP obsession with parsing different categories of rape, and implying that some count more than others?
It all goes back to abortion, of course and the relentless conservative drive in recent years to limit exceptions to abortion restrictions—in this case by flat-out redefining rape.
Since the 1976 Hyde Amendment, restrictions on the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions have included exceptions for women who got pregnant via rape or incest. But last year, a Republican bill—co-sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan and called a top priority by Speaker John Boehner—aimed to narrow the rape exception to “forcible rape.” As Mother Jones explained at the time:
This would rule out federal assistance for abortions in many rape cases, including instances of statutory rape, many of which are non-forcible. For example: If a 13-year-old girl is impregnated by a 24-year-old adult, she would no longer qualify to have Medicaid pay for an abortion.
Anti-abortion groups left little doubt about their position, arguing that the law had never been interpreted to count statutory rape as rape. “We do not believe that the Hyde Amendment has ever been construed to permit federal funding of abortion based merely on the youth of the mother (“statutory rape”),” Douglas Johnson, of the National Right to Life Committee told LifeNews.com.
In other words, statutory rape shouldn't count as real rape. The new “forcible rape” language was only needed, Johnson said, to prevent pro-choice groups from trying to widen the definition of rape so that it would now apply to statutory rape.
But it’s not only about statutory rape. In that February CNN interview, Paul went on to say that though victims of “honest rape” should have access to emergency contraceptive services, "if you talk about somebody coming in and they say, 'Well, I was raped and I'm seven months pregnant and I don't want to have anything to do with it,' it's a little bit different story."
In other words, distinguishing between “honest rape” and other types of rape is necessary because women lie about rape. So only those who immediately report the crime should be allowed to terminate their pregnancies. In reality, of course, experts say it’s extremely common for women not to immediately report a rape, out of a combination of factors including trauma, shame, and fear of one’s attacker.
In fact, if the Republican Party had its way, the forcible rape debate would be moot, because there just wouldn't be any exceptions to abortion restrictions. In the run-up to its Tampa convention, the party this week passed a “Human Life Amendment”—just as it did in 2004 and 2008—which opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
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The GOP is riding on the backs of those males who feel that it is their "right" to have dominating power over minorities and women. The Republicans seem to find it acceptable to solicit loyality by going after the basest instincts within immature minds. These guys are the ones who stopped thinking a long time ago, or maybe, never learned how to reason, in the first place.
Rape is rape - period
I do hope that journalism will keep this topic before the American people, at least until all of these crazy attempts to sneak in horrible laws, or changes to existing laws, stop.
They are Just Duckin' and Dodgin'- Avoiding and Evading The REAL Issues that Need to be Dealt With in OUR Country and All The While They Are Attempting to Corrupt The Voting Rights of The People in order to Unbalance OUR Voting Rights and Stack the Deck In Their Favor with Absolutely No Proof of Any Such Action that is Needed -- ALL of This in a Handbag - Is To Thwart And Obstruct and to Stall OUR Entire Country - All in the Name of Defeating OUR President - President Obama !!!! They Are GOMERS - Anti-Americans - Commies - the new 4th Reich - in Action !!! And They All Full-Well Know What They are Doing and Why They Are Doing All of this BS !!!
keep digging xeptdx-he was wrong and got away with it,because he was rich.but rape is rape period.but you have a very small mind little guy,you probably sit in front of the computer,and look at not so nice pictures on the internet.
And Just Why is paul ryan Not Commenting on this Issue - After-All - He Is One of the Major Supporters of These Acts -- On Paper ............ and On Video's ............ but He Just Keeps his Trap Shut - Now -- WHY ???? hmmmm .......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juIerH50lP4 == TRMS/Moxnews - paul ryan against abortion and birth control
And Yet Here-in Lies a Very Important Question ----- If THEY are Sooo Against Birth-control - then - Why are THEY Wanting to Control Birth-Control ??? Think about It - hey .... Bunch -O- GOMERS ....
Tea Bag: You should write some more fiction Sherlock! Lets say there’s a Democrat who hasn't paid his child support for months, should the republicans be enraged and insist he steps down?
Akin has been tossed because of their FAKE outrage! Willard & Lyin Ryan have painted themselves into a corner! Ha hahaha!
That's Typical - Avoid the Question ------- Does the name Joe Walsh {R} Come to mind - at One Point in Time He Was $117,000 Behind in Child Support and He Is Still In Office !!!! Disgusting .......
And just who is asking you to pay for it? You are so selfcenered it's sickening. With attitudes you righties have today, we would have never survived, let alone, recovered from the depression. And with your right wing ideas, we won't this recession. But that should make you very happy.
Hi Larry! No doubt if they have it there way, So many of these ones are in the penthouse of Daddies ivory tower with nothing left to do but worry Obama is gonna tax their capital gains...Boo! Obama coming to get you!
Congratulations, XE! Ignore!
Me too, Chris. Total overreach, although I guess if one has to go back to the late 60s, then lie about it to boot (no rape), then maybe that speaks volumes in itself.
XEPTDX(I read that as expert dick)is a troll, ignore him
Rufus is just showing off his stupidity after all, he's a pro at it.
The act of taking from someone that which he or she is unable to give, whether by force, by authority, by coercion, by age difference, by drugs, by surprise, or through any other means is rape. Honest, legitimate, forcible rape. To draw a distinction between types of rape is to insult survivors, cheapen victims, and undersell the impact rape ultimately has on not only an individual but society at-large. Our sons and daughters deserve better than the sterile, surgical language used to tease out different "types" of rape, when they're all the same and all carry the same horrific psychological repercussions, health risks, and interpersonal stigma.
Approximately 33,000 babies are born every year as the result of rape. Todd Akin should have done his homework before spouting nonsense.
These humanitarians would ban the morning after pill, even if it was a twelve year old girl who was raped. They would put the sperm swimming around in there ahead of the mental and physical health of the twelve year old. That is pro-life???
I guess post-natal life doesn't count.
Post-natal life does matter. I support universal health care for all Americans. I also would like to see year around school so our kids get a good foundation for technical school, college or service in the military. Somewhere along the way we need to understand that women are a little big more vulnerable due to the pregnancy burden. We need to be somewhat more compassionate for their problems because rape and incest are actually fairly common across the country and across socioeconomic levels. Abortion services are a basic necessity of life for a woman but the decision should be between her and the doctor or nurse. This will produce a far better result than letting right winged conservative preachers make private decisions about what women can or can not do in their bedrooms or whose baby they chose to bring up and raise in the world.
As irartating as it is to explain this, the knuckle draggers have invented a distiction between what most would agree is rape and "consensual" rape which would involve a victim under the age of consent (just to show you how stupid the distiction really is). This non foraceable rape or statutory rape is less bad by them as a sop to certian of their Evengelical if not at all angelic allies who prey upon very young women usually in the name of one sect or another's sacred beliefs.
They see it as so,me kind of Biblical bliss rather than child abuse.
Interesting.
What a GREAT example the REPUBLICANS have made of themselves to the young people of this country. Pathetic bunch of corrupt liars!
And we all know what teabaggers do at teabagger country clubs now don't we Rufus...LOL
I think the whole bunch of the GOP has blueberry pie on there faces!
Thank you al not so sharp-ton
Looks like I struck a
nervenerd! And I said BLUEBERRY pie not COW PIE!xo - I believe that they have that Blue-Berry Pie in Other Orifices as Well !!!! just sayin' ........
What about the DNC and there rape of the American worker & companies?
What about proving what you say. It is the right wing busting unions. It is the right wing wanting to eliminate the minimum wage. It is the right wing wanting to eliminate child labor laws. Now, who's raping who????
Wholly Crap is a rereg named Rob who lies about everything.
Over 41 million people on food stamps
Over 8% unemlpoyment for over 3 years.
Over 12 million people out of work.
Over $1 trillion tax payer dollars spent every year Ospend-O-lot has been in office.
Obummer care taxing Medical Device makers, to date 1500 jobs gone out of the country.
to the clueless jerks that want to compare rape to the budget or political ideals...STOP! just stop...it's lazy, stupid, insensitive and trolling, if you have a real comment to make do it with intelligence not a slap to the face of every survivor of sexual assault!
Say what?
Wholly Crap can't speak english. He can barely write it.
Religion has no place in politics! Keep your religion in your church and out of our government! The GOP has no trouble or conscience when it comes to killing Bush/Cheney in a made up reason for the war in Iraq 4282 dead. So where is your outrage now thumpers!
Let's be proactive - Ask everyone who thinks that a woman should carry full term rape or incest baby to sign up to adopt the child - then we can see the real attitude of the far right!!
crickets......
We play baseball in this country, not cricket.
You have the bats but no balls....so go home!
Excellent, X.
A vote for Romney is a vote for Bush!
Like a bird in the hand....it will poop in it!
The MSNBC 15 second adds are great - the Obama campaign should use them
I had to send 3 yrs of taxes to get a mortgage - a presidential candidate can't even do that!!
Ho-lee's just barely succeeding in keeping it together, because he can see the writing on the wall. The whole crazy lot of birther-loving, women-hating, knuckle-dragging morons are going DOWN in November. And I can't wait!
We would have passed that long ago if McCain had won in 2008! So you want more of Bushes failed policies?
Rufus lives in the past like all teabaggers do. I guess that 'R' does stand for 'reverse'.
Since Willard thinks the Mormons are going to go inhabit some other planet, does that make him a Romulan?
Rich and rep, which stands for MINORITY
Huckabee had a woman as a guest on his radio show - she was born as a result of rape. According to Ryan and the rest of the republicans this is not possible. According to them, the lady's mother must have had a "illegitimate" rape. or maybe it was "legitimate". I think Ryan should explain this.
He might start by saying...Are you my daughter?
The parochialism of American conservatives is truly astonishing but also depressing. European countries with single payer health care systems universally provide abortion and family planning and birth control for all girls and women. I always thought women were equal human beings. If we are going to treat women equally we have to have access for women to family planning, birth control, and abortion services free of charge to them. Men are equally responsible for any pregnancy, STD's, and other problems related to women's reproductive health so it is therefore a national issue. We need to have a universal Medicare for all public option.
Conservatives who are opposed to universal health care are also wanting the government to end the right to all abortions even in cases of rape or incest. This barbaric policy says women are doormats and only serve as pleasure units for a male dominated patriarchal society. When you treat women like subhumans we are degrading their quality of life in a very fundamental way. Its not just Congressman Akin its Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan plus the whole entire GOP establishment that are engaging in stupid and ignorant policies that will tear America down rather than build it up. Reject the ill treatment of women by the GOP and vote for Obama/Biden and a straight Democratic ticket this November.
Ryan got caught with his hand in the jelly jar and he is trying to lie to get it out. Too bad his actions (House bills he co-sponsored) speak so loud we cannot hear what he is saying. Just more lies and hypocrisy. His voting record speaks for himself: abortion/legitimate "forced" rape, stimulus money, two unpaid wars with unpaid prescription drug program, more tax breaks for the wealthy and more taxes for middle class, less money for Planned Parenthood and Snap Program AND making Medicare a voucher program which increases cost for seniors for an average of $6400 per person. So the GOP are a bunch of self-centered egotistical, selfish individuals who want to turn this country into a libertarian society - survival of the fittest and privatize education, etc. for PROFIT for themselves and others. One of Romney's sons is with country that owns private charter schools. PROFIT.
I think we have had enough of the private school of hard knocks!
"Legitimate" rape??
If the Republicans win, the rich will abort Medicare and Social Security,
as they rape this COUNTRY...."legitimately".
Lyin' Ryan and More-mon-ey Romney are the Conservative Caviar Candidates.
They're the DREAM team for the super-rich - they want it ALL!
But they're the NIGHTMARE team for seniors, the middle-class , women’s rights, students receiving Pell grants, and the rest of us who are struggling .... while the big corporations send jobs and profits overseas, and the super-rich like Romney avoid paying their fair share.
Romney-Ryan can fool some of the people some of the time.
But no more - we’re ON to you guys!
another true republican showing their true colors, pathetic ignorant imbeciles
A voice from the DARK AGES. Unfortunately also the voice of the Republican Party!
As for Mr. Aiken, it seems he has done nothing more than verbalize truthfully what his party believes, what their stand is, what their platform is and what 'bills' they have been pushing for the last 2 yrs along with co-sponsor Paul Ryan. So what is wrong? Obviously, the GOP does not want its members/candidates talking openly and publicly about their 'plans' etc. At least Mr. Aiken seems to stand firmly on his own convictions and beliefs which are those of his party. And he is NOT a flip flopper!
As for Mr. Aiken, it seems he has done nothing more than verbalize truthfully what his party believes, what their stand is, what their platform is and what 'bills' they have been pushing for the last 2 yrs along with co-sponsor Paul Ryan. So what is wrong? Obviously, the GOP does not want its members/candidates talking openly and publicly about their 'plans' etc. At least Mr. Aiken seems to stand firmly on his own convictions and beliefs which are those of his party. And he is NOT a flip flopper!
I love all the comments and they all ring true. Aginst birth control and against abortion because you cant use birth control....a catch 22! The GOP is turning into ilagitamate party of crazies. How we have a judge saying that there will be a civil war id Obama get re-elected. What a Stupid Akin he is!
Im replacing Akin with other words...like "What a pain in the Akin", "You stupid Akin", "This job is a Akin",