How can one not comment on Rep. Akin's views on rape. If Missouri elects him as their senator, I hereby vow never to visit or travel through that state again. It's pretty much getting to the point where I can only visit states in the northeast and even those are getting problematic, including New York and Maine, my two home states.
For me, the most outrageous part of his comment is not that women who are raped rarely get pregnant, which is definitely false, but that women have the capacity to shut down their bodies to avoid getting pregnant in cases of "legitimate rape." Rape, by its very term, is not legitimate as it's forcible entry against a woman's will. But Akin's remark on the ability of women to shut down their bodies is so outrageous that it's impossible not to ask of him, as Barney Frank once asked of one of his tea party hecklers, "What planet do you come from?" I'd also like to ask the voters of Missouri who made Akin their party candidate for Senate, "What planet do you come from?" The South will not rise again!
Just a minor point to some, probably a major point to others: it's Missouri not Maryland.
ReplyDeleteThanks for correction; I've only been to Missouri once, so giving it up is not that difficult. Maryland is a bit harder to say goodbye to. Grace
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at the relatively tame reaction to this horror of a man. He insults all human's dignity and Ryan agrees with him on all but the spurious ability of women who are raped to will not to be pregnant.
ReplyDeleteEven more ironic I think is that all Republicans are condemning him, but not his views on not permitting abortions in the case of rape and incest (which was just written into the Republican platform), but that he made that incredibly stupid comment on women willing themselves not to get pregnant. That, of course, is amazing when you think of it. We could get rid of all contraceptives if that were true and what then would the Catholic Church and all those wrinkled old bishops do with themselves. No doubt, they spend their money finding a machine to mind-read so they could condemn women who will themselves not to get pregnant. Lordy, Lordy!
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