Republican Missouri Rep. Todd Akin Says “Legitimate Rape” Not Likely To Lead To Pregnancy—Here In Texas, State-Mandated Rape Is The Law Of The Land

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Todd Akin of Missouri has said that women who experience a “legitimate rape” are unlikely to get pregnant.

Mr. Akin is a current U.S. House member who is running against incumbent Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. Mr. Akin has been leading in the polls against Senator McCaskill.

(Above–Todd Akin)

Mr. Akin made these comments in response to a question about if abortion should be allowed in cases of rape. This conversation took place on a political interview show in Missouri.

Here is the exchange—

“If abortion could be considered in case of, say, a tubal pregnancy [which threatens the mother’s life], what about in the case of rape?” asked KTVI host Charles Jaco, in a clip that was disseminated by Talking Points Memo. “Should it be legal or not?”

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said, referring to conception following a rape. “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, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

Here is a video of the exchange.

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that about 5% of women of reproductive age who are raped also get pregnant from that rape. 

Mother Jones magazine reports that Rep. Akin has worked with Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan to narrow the definition of rape. The matter of who is “legitimately raped”, and who might be raped in a more severe way that would draw the disapproval of Mr. Akin and Mr. Ryan matters to them because it impacts who gets government funds for a constitutionally protected abortion.

Here in Texas, women who seek a constitutionally protected abortion are forced to undergo the state-mandated rape of the forced sonogram law.

And while it is easy to say it is only Republicans who are part of the War on Women,—and for the most part that is true—the Texas law passed the Texas State Senate with the votes of three Democrats.

Below is a post I wrote last March about the state-mandated rape of the Texas forced sonogram law and three Texas Senate Democrats who helped make the law a reality. This post is just as relevant today as it was five months ago.

From March 15, 2012—-

Recently I wrote about how the Texas forced sonogram law is state-mandated rape and about how Texas State Senator Dan Patrick defends state mandated-rape.

Senator Patrick was feeling sorry for himself and saying that he was the victim of unfair attacks.

Here is some of what Senator Patrick said—

“Once again I couldn’t care less about what the opposition says no matter how mean spirited. We did the right thing in passing this bill on many levels. Mr Trudeau has conveniently skipped over the fact that our bill passed by only one vote and that it was 3 Latino pro life Catholic Democrats who joined me to pass the bill. But that storyline isn’t convenient for Trudeau or the opposition. Heaven forbid they have to acknowledge that Democrats, even if only 3, voted for this bill and were the final votes for passage.”

The Mr. Trudeau that Mr. Patrick is referring to is Doonesbury comic strip writer Gary Trudeau. Mr. Trudeau has written a Doonesbury series in which he says that the Texas forced sonogram bill is rape. Here is a link to the comics that Mr. Trudeau authored about this state-mandated rape.

In the excerpt of from Senator Patrick above, he references the fact that three Democrats voted for the forced sonogram bill in the Texas State Senate. I appreciate this reminder Senator Patrick. It is important that we know the names of the three Democrats in the Texas State Senate who voted for the forced sonogram bill.

The three Democratic Texas State Senators who in 2011 voted for the forced sonogram law were Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville, Carlos Uresti of San Antonio and Judith Zaffirini of Laredo.

Because of this law, the precedent has been set that the State of Texas can force politically motivated unwanted medical produces on free citizens.

Also, the State of Texas now mandates the rape of its own people.

Why is the Texas forced sonogram law rape?

From Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times—

“Here’s what a woman in Texas now faces if she seeks an abortion.  Under a new law that took effect three weeks ago with the strong backing of Gov. Rick Perry, she first must typically endure an ultrasound probe inserted into her vagina. Then she listens to the audio thumping of the fetal heartbeat and watches the fetus on an ultrasound screen. She must listen to a doctor explain the body parts and internal organs of the fetus as they’re shown on the monitor. She signs a document saying that she understands all this, and it is placed in her medical files. Finally, she goes home and must wait 24 hours before returning to get the abortion. “It’s state-sanctioned abuse,” said Dr. Curtis Boyd, a Texas physician who provides abortions. “It borders on a definition of rape. Many states describe rape as putting any object into an orifice against a person’s will. Well, that’s what this is. A woman is coerced to do this, just as I’m coerced.”

From a 2011 opinion column in the Houston Chronicle by local writer Beverly McPhail —

“Not only is this law an insult to women in Texas, a close reading of the Texas Penal Code, Section 22.011, suggests that the new law may also constitute a sexual assault upon women, which is a second-degree felony. The code defines a sexual assault as an offense in which a person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent. Furthermore, the law stipulates that one condition of nonconsent is met when the actor is a public servant who coerces the other person to submit or participate. “

This is rape. It is about the State of Texas doing whatever it wants to free citizens. It has nothing to do with the legally protected procedure of abortion.

The issues here are politics, and the power the State of Texas exerts for the purpose of state-mandated rape.