By: Mariah Alexander
Rape: (Noun) 1. The unlawful compelling of a person through
physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. 2. Any act of sexual
intercourse that is forced upon a person.
In an interview on The Jaco Report in August of 2012 Rep.
Todd Akin shared his beliefs on abortion and legitimate rape. He told is
interviewer “It seems to be, first of all from what I understand from doctors,
it’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has way of trying
to shut the whole thing down.” It was of no surprise that social media EXPLODED
and was enraged at what Akin said.
Personally, I was less mad and
more astonished at his pure lack of compassion and knowledge about BASIC
anatomy. There is no doubt in my mind that Todd Akin believes that female rape
victims cannot get pregnant from being raped. But how someone with a PhD could
be so out right dumb, I am also curious to know what doctor told him these lies
and what school did he or she attend where the manage to graduate with these
notions that a female body can prevent pregnancy when being raped.
Almost immediately after social
media went crazy over Todd Akin’s comment on legitimate rape, he released a
statement saying he had misspoken. I highly doubt it, but maybe that’s just me.
It’s also no surprise that Akin lost his next election.
So, after watching the video clip
of Akin’s interview on The Jaco Report I had to find out what doctor was
backing him and what medical school was teaching this. I did some research and
I found absolutely nothing. Page after page of google and I could not find the
name of one doctor or school that was supporting Akin’s statement. But what I
did find was other politician’s that agreed with him or had similar opinions.
1) Republican
Representative Henry Aldridge said to the House Appropriations committee, in
1995, that “The facts show that people who are raped — who are truly raped —
the juices don’t flow, the body functions don’t work and they don’t get
pregnant. Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever.”
2) In
1997, Judge James Leon Holmes said in a circa article that “Concern for rape
victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately
the same frequency as snowfall in Miami.”
3) Philadelphia
Inquirer, 1988, “The odds that a woman who is raped will get pregnant are “one
in millions and millions and millions,” said state Rep. Stephen Freind,
R-Delaware County, the Legislature’s leading abortion foe.
The reason,
Freind said, is that the traumatic experience of rape causes a woman to
“secrete a certain secretion” that tends to kill sperm.
Two Philadelphia
doctors specializing in human reproduction characterized Freind’s contention as
scientifically baseless.”
How are they getting away with
this? It absolutely baffles me that these men could have gone so long believing
these things and no one informed them of the truth. There are probably
thousands of people living throughout America who actually believe this. But I
guess that’s just the world that we live in.
Eligon,
. The New York Times, "Senate Candidate Provokes Ire With ‘Legitimate
Rape’ Comment." Last modified August 19, 2012. Accessed January 28, 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/us/politics/todd-akin-provokes-ire-with-legitimate-rape-comment.html.
Jaco, Charles. "The Jaco
Report" Recorded August 19 2012. Fox. Web
North, Anna. BuzzFeed,
"The 6 Craziest Things People Have Said About Pregnancy And Rape."
Last modified March 21, 2012. Accessed January 30, 2014.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/the-6-craziest-things-people-have-said-about-pregn.
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