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Aborted Campaign: Missouri GOP Senatorial Candidate Says ‘Legitimate Rape” Rarely Causes Pregnancies

Rep. Todd Akin had no sooner won Missouri’s GOP Senate primary this month than he seemed eager to hand over the election to incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. Akin instantly became a national sensation with a shocking statement about how “legitimate rape” rarely results in pregnancy.


When confronted on his view regarding exceptions to a ban on abortions, Akin proceeded to show how to abort a Senate campaign in record time: “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. . . But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

First there is the distinction between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” rape that is too twisted to contemplate. Then there is Akin’s rather bizarre view of the female body and the existence of some type of kill switch in cases of rape within every woman.

Akin is a six-term U.S. congressman who probably could have drifted to a win in Missouri. Polls showed him a heavy favorite against McCaskill who is unpopular with many in Missouri as well as Washington. Akin, 65, was backed by former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and supported by many in the Tea Party. Akin was able to secure 36 percent of the vote against businessman John G. Brunner with 30 percent and former state treasurer Sarah Steelman with 29 percent. Steelman was the favorite of Sarah Palin and many in the Tea Party. Despite the tough primary, Akin was leading McCaskill in the polls.

That changed in a flash and he succeeded in moving a state from an expected win for the GOP into the doubtful column — assuming he does not withdraw from the race. Both Romney and Ryan have publicly criticized the comment. McCaskill appears to relish the thought of becoming the second most unpopular candidate in a two-person race. She has refused to call for Akin to step down and said that it would be a radical step to replace a candidate who just won the primary. Republicans however have lined up to condemn the statements and call for Akin to withdraw from the race.

Akin’s attempt to walk back from the comments was almost as awkward — claiming that he “misspoke” about rape. Here is the statement:

“As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve.

“I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election.”

Akin does not address the medical side of the comment or even explain what he meant about legitimate rape.

“Misspoke” is a remarkably flexible term to cover any statement where, according to Merriam-Webster, you can claim that you “expressed (oneself) imperfectly or incorrectly.” Of course, there remains the cause for such misspeak. It is one thing to get a date wrong or a country wrong or even a description of some past event. Here however Akin drew a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate rape and then proceeded to offer a medical claim that is almost medieval in character.

Here is the clip showing the “misspeech”:


Given the polarized situation in Missouri, this does not necessarily mean that McCaskill will win. However, with the GOP already struggling with the female vote, this is comment is likely to be played back in an endless loop. The question is the degree of pressure from the Romney campaign to get Akin to step aside given the possible drag on the ticket in November.

Source: CNN

192 thoughts on “Aborted Campaign: Missouri GOP Senatorial Candidate Says ‘Legitimate Rape” Rarely Causes Pregnancies”

  1. gbk:

    do you know the difference between an actual human and a potential human? You dont subordinate an actual to a potential.

  2. lottakatz,
    I read the same sci-fi story, and coincidentally, I was just thinking about it a couple of days ago for some reason. I can’t remember the name of it either, but now we both will be trying to remember it for the next foreseeable future.

    Currently the stupid beam only affects about half the population right now. It is the only thing I can think of to explain current polling figures.

  5. Bron,

    “I dont think government has a place in the abortion debate, except to protect actual human’s rights.”

    And there’s the rub; especially given your prior statement of:

    “Actually you are killing human life at conception.”

    What is “actual human rights,” Bron?

    Keep talking, Bron. It is very illuminating.

    It might help, though, if you could seperate your disdain for government while you offer a solution on complex subjects such as this one.

    Here’s something to consider: can corportations now have abortions?

  6. Isn’t it odd that so many Republican Christians interpret the ‘Sacred’ of God to be so surrounded by violence? Violence to get into the womb…violence once you get out from it…. and Democrats just get so pissed off by the absurdities that their arguments devolve into violent verbal abuses…somehow I don’t think anyone is doing much to preserve any sacredness, certainly not in the political arena….

  7. No comment on such ridiculousness and a Christian would not change God’s word.~Jim
    —————————–
    Oh puleeeeese!
    Republicans do it all the time…..oh…..right…..nevermind.

    (I was CHANNELing….not changing…. )

  8. I’ve reread the whole thread again and what comes to mind is a Sci-Fi story I read decades ago. I forget the name. The Earth in its galactic journey passes through the path of some unusual, directionally focused radiation from a pulse or some similar cosmic item. We move out of the beam and we immediately become more smart. The radiation impairs the brain. We move back into the beam and then become stupider. It accounts for the boom and bust in evolution and civilization.

    Srsly, 40 years ago the ‘all cells are alive so abortion at any time is murder’ was a popular a argument. The ‘classic’ response was ‘then ban the treatment for cancer too.’ It was just that primitive and ignorant on a debate and knowledge level. It was the first tentative step in the right trying to recast a religious argument as a scientific debate. It was ridiculous then and is now. We are still, as a society, at square one. Square one because I don’t do math and can’t use negative numbers properly.

    I am greatly disheartened that I will undoubtedly die before we move beyond the Stupid Ray.

    ______________
    Obviously the problem with the House is that ignorant men rule- they apparently slept through their 5th grade ‘ personal hygiene’ class.

    “Bryan Fischer: Todd Akin right about ‘real, genuine rape’”

    “Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association on Monday insisted that Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) was right to claim women could not become pregnant from “legitimate rape.” …. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) told Raw Story that Akin’s point of view was “consistent” with that of other House Republicans, including vice presidential candidate Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI).”

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/20/bryan-fischer-todd-akin-right-about-real-genuine-rape/

  9. gbk:

    I am not against government at all. I just want limited government as constrained by our Constitution.

    I dont think government has a place in the abortion debate, except to protect actual human’s rights.

  10. Jim,

    I’ll ask again: is it not audacious of you to disrupt your god’s plans?

    I’d really like to know.

  11. No comment on such ridiculousness and a Christian would not change God’s word.

  13. These are 3 reasons why we Christians can’t and won’t budge on our stance on abortion. For if we are willing to compromise our values and beliefs then how can anyone believe what we say for we would be like the wind.~Jim
    ——————————————————

    Dear Jim, I channeled G*d and filled out the verse….he said oh yeah! to the wind part….

    Psalm 139:13–16.
    For You formed my inward parts:
    You covered me in my mother’s womb.
    I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    Marvelous are Your works,
    And that my soul knows very well.
    My frame was not hidden from You,
    When I was made in secret,
    And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
    Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
    And in Your book they all were written,
    The days fashioned for me,
    When as yet there were none of them.
    And so I came into this world
    to flesh out the army, to hold a gun
    to blow away that which I crave to master
    to ruin your Earth
    to bloody your flowered fields
    to kill as many as I am told to kill
    because I know your only Sacred Space
    Is the defiled womb
    by hook by crook
    by deceit
    ain’t that neat
    Thank You JESUS!!!!! Holy Hannah pass the basket!!!!!!!!
    That I was born in sin gives me permission …..Amen

    Jeremiah 1:4–5
    Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
    Before you were born I sanctified you;
    I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
    Go forth and forcibly multiply….but deny every deed…..

    Psalm 51:5
    This verse is frequently used to make the case for human life beginning at conception. It reads:
    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    And in sin my mother conceived me….(Dad wasn’t involved at all btw…..)

  14. Bron,

    “I personally think the government has no business one way or the other.”

    But zealots do? Now maybe you recognize the need of government, at least on this issue?

  15. Jim,

    I’ll ask again: is it not audacious of you to disrupt your god’s plans?

  16. Jim
    1, August 20, 2012 at 5:00 pm
    When a girl says she was raped but actually never said no and gave no indication that she didn’t want to but after the act regrets it and believes he should have stopped, is that legitimate rape?
    =================================
    gosh Jim, I would think there would be big flags, arrows and questions about whether she actually ever said YES….you know, prior to the blessed event…..

    I know the attempt made me speechless….

  19. Akin’s Spiritual Mentor: Women Occasionally Invite Rape, Victims Are ‘Hysterical’
    By Zack Beauchamp on Aug 20, 2012
    http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/08/20/713571/akins-spiritual-mentor-women-occasionally-invite-rape-victims-are-hysterical/

    Reverend D. James Kennedy (Left) and Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO).
    Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-MO) spiritual mentor Reverend D. James Kennedy harbored extreme and sometimes flatly misogynistic views about rape and abortion, according to a ThinkProgress review of Kennedy’s sermons on the topic. The Senate candidate, who set off a massive controversy by claiming this weekend that victims of “legitimate rape” don’t get pregnant, has deep ties to Reverend Kennedy, having cited some of his sermons as key intellectual influences and having been named in Kennedy’s book How Would Jesus Vote? as one of the Reverend’s “favorite statesman.”

    Kennedy, who the Anti-Defamation League has termed a “Christian supremacist,” repeatedly railed against legalized abortion, calling it the “American Holocaust” and suggesting that it would lead inevitably to genocide in the United States. But Kennedy’s discussions of rape and abortion in particular betray extraordinarily disturbing views about rape victims:

    1. Kennedy believed that rape victims who chose abortion are “hysterical.” In “Abortion: Myths and Realities,” Kennedy labels victims of rape who chose unsafe abortions when safer procedures are illegal “hysterical,” saying “We are told by some of the radical feminists that the women will become hysterical, that they will abort themselves with coat hanger.” Abortion rates are, in fact, higher in nations where the procedure is criminalized, and men describing women whose choices they disapprove of as “hysterical” has a storied sexist history.

    2. Kennedy suggests rape victims can be responsible for being raped. In “Life: An Inalienable Right,” Kennedy expresses concern that rape victims who chose to get an abortion are occasionally responsible for their own rape, saying that “Even if they want to say the woman had some part in it—which in most cases they probably don’t—surely the baby did nothing wrong, so the only innocent party is killed and the rapist often goes free.” He doesn’t elaborate on how this might be true, but another Kennedy sermon says “the immodest woman is contributing to the lust of other people” by wearing revealing clothing.

    3. Kennedy held that the Bible should set our laws about rape and abortion. Kennedy is very explicit on this point, saying “In the Bible, the child of rape was allowed to live and the rapist was put to death. Today, we find that the penalties against rape have become more and more lenient, whereas the child is now the subject of capital punishment. Justice has been totally destroyed and perverted in that the guilty are practically allowed to go free and the innocent are killed.” This fits with Kennedy’s general view that we should “rebuild America based on the Bible.”

    4. Kennedy thought husbands should determine if their wives can have abortions. Though not specifically addressing rape, Kennedy approvingly cited a Roman prohibition on abortion motivated by the husbands should have control over women’s reproductive choice, saying “That newly created life is as much the husband’s as it is the wife’s. Historically, it is interesting to note that when the Roman Empire did away with laws that allowed abortion, it was done not because of the woman or the harm that abortions were doing to women (and indeed they do vastly more harm than most people are aware of), but because the husband was being defrauded of his progeny.” Interestingly, Akin has worried that criminalizing marital rape provides women “a legal weapon to beat up on the husband.”

    Given that Akin’s rhetoric and policy views bear clear marks of Kennedy’s influence, it’s perhaps no surprise that Akin co-sponsored (with Paul Ryan) a bill that could, by limiting federal funding of abortion to cases of “forcible rape,” make rape survivors give birth to their rapist’s child.

  20. Akin might have mis-spoke….. It’s hard to talk when your tongue is jammed up the Pope’s Butt…….

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