Todd Akin’s Beliefs About Rape

jamin | August 20, 2012 | 1 Comment

Meet Todd Akin.

Todd Akin. Rape expert. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Todd Akin believes that pregnancy from “legitimate” rape does not happen all that much and that women’s bodies have a way of shutting down pregnancy while being raped.

“Even I wouldn’t have gone that far, Akin.”

I wanted the Obama slow blink GIF, but I can’t find it.

Back to the story. Man, WHAT? Rape, which is a show of force and has nothing to do with sexual arousal, is a horrible crime. It happens every day around the world. Most victims know their rapists and it comes in various forms. Some of it happens forcibly. Some of it happens through coercion. Some of it happens while intoxicated, drugged, or while people are asleep. It happens to women and men. It happens in prisons, churches, homes, streets, alleys, fields, forests, etc. Rape is rape is rape. It has no legitimacy.

Here’s some basic biology for you, Rep. Akin: A woman can get pregnant if she is ovulating. Pregnancy occurs when a sperm fertilizes and egg. A woman does not need to be relaxed and accepting in order to get impregnated. She can be forced open vaginally and pregnancies have occurred due to rape. Granted, it’s a small number but it does happen.

I’m appalled that this man calls himself speaking up for an unborn child with no regard for the mother and her emotional trauma. Rape leaves you feeling powerless, questioning what you did wrong to deserve it, and utterly confused because it is a sexual act. So, your body is responding to stimuli that your mind is not trying to have. It’s probably one of the worst disconnects ever experienced. I’ve almost been there. Fortunately, it ended before it got worse, but the lead up to it was there.

I empathize and sympathize with rape victims from my near-experience. There is so much confusion, anger, self-blame, and self-loathing involved in something like that. For a man running for high office to so carelessly handle something as serious as rape by 1) qualifying it and 2) saying that pregnancy isn’t necessarily an outcome of it (that’s a possible physical outcome. Others are vaginal damage and STDs) is just appalling. The Missouri GOP wants him to step aside in the campaign, but he cannot do so due to the rules of the Missouri GOP – he’s probably stuck as your nominee, guys. Deal with it.

What wonderful people the GOP candidates and representatives are proving to be.