I spent part of my growing up years with two different kids who were cognitively (mentally) disabled Because they were children of incest. Is incest Not Ligitimate Rape? I know a young woman who had an abortion as a teenager to keep from having her father's child.
This "opinion" is simply Medically False and to me, Also Highly Offensive!
I have already passed this mail to all of the Mo.
Thank you.
Rep. Todd Akin said that women who are the victims of "legitimate rape" can't get
pregnant because their bodies will naturally shut down to prevent the pregnancy.
Now calls are growing for him to resign.
Can you add your voice to the thousands calling on him to step down?
click here
Click Here
Victims of "legitimate rape" can't get pregnant because a woman's body will shut
down and prevent the pregnancy. Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) actually said that--in
other words, he's saying that if a woman does get pregnant, she must not have been
raped.1
Even scarier? He's running--and leading--in the race for Missouri Senate.
These comments are shameful, ignorant and dangerous.
Todd Akin must resign right away.
What he said was bad, but it was hardly a gaffe or poor choice of words.
In 2011 he and Representative Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's VP pick, led the push in
the House of Representatives to redefine rape as "forcible rape" to further restrict
rape survivors' access to abortion. As a state senator, Akin questioned whether anti-marital
rape laws would be abused by women in messy divorces (he eventually voted for the
anti-marital rape law).
2
Prominent leaders on both sides of the political aisle are demanding that Akin resign--can
you join them and sign this petition today?
3
If enough of us join in we can make sure that the media scrutiny of his comments
doesn't fade until he steps down. Anyone who doesn't understand basic biology and
tries to create more hurdles for rape survivors seeking justice doesn't belong in
the United States
Add your name to the petition.
The sad truth is that more than 32,101 pregnancies result from rape every single
year.
4
Here's what Akin said yesterday:
"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really
rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview Sunday. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the
female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
And while he later stated that he "misspoke," he is yet to apologize or clarify what
it was that he didn't mean to say.
Here's how Ilyse Hogue at The Nation
sums up Akin's comments as they stand: "In his (Akin's) world view, the rape victim's
body will be the ultimate judge of whether a crime has taken place. If she gets pregnant,
by Akin's standard, her reproductive organs consented to the pregnancy, so she must
have consented to the sex."
The repercussions of his statements are already playing out. Prominent reporters
are now openly questioning whether all rapes are real--increasing an already unreal
cultural burden on survivors brave enough to report them.
5
If you thought this year could not get any more scary in terms of the assaults on
women, you were wrong. In the summer of 2012 we are debating whether all rapes ought
to be treated equally and which are less "legitimate" than others.
This is dangerous. And it's not a gaffe.
Todd Akin has a real history of trying to redefine rape to make it harder for rape
survivors to get reproductive health care. Now that he has been exposed in public,
he must resign. Please sign the petition right away.
Add your name to the petition.
Thanks for speaking out.
--Nita, Shaunna and Kat, the UltraViolet Team
Sources:
1.
The Danger of Laughing At Todd Akin,
The Nation, August 20, 2012
2.
Republican Senate Nominee: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don’t Get Pregnant,
Talking Points Memo, August 19, 2012
3.
Growing Number Of Conservatives Call On Akin To Withdraw After ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comments,
ThinkProgress, Aug 19, 2012
4.
Republican Senate Nominee: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don’t Get Pregnant,
Talking Points Memo, August 19, 2012
5.
Politico reporter ventures defense of Todd Akin,
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