Our completely incorrect biology lesson today comes not from Chateau Heartiste or The Spearhead or EvoPsychBullshitBeliever997 on Reddit but from an actual elected official with influence in the real world: Republican Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri, currently his party’s nominee for Senate.
In a recent interview with KTVI-TV, the Fox affiliate in St. Louis, he explained that the ladies just don’t get pregnant from rape — well, “legitimate rape” anyway. As he put it:
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. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.
As The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake notes, this whole “rape as birth control” thing is not actually, you know, true:
Akin’s claim is one that pops up occasionally in social conservative circles. A federal judge nominated by President Bush in the early 2000s had said similar things, as have state lawmakers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. …
According to a 1996 study, approximately 32,000 pregnancies result from rape annually in the United States, and about 5 percent of rape victims are impregnated.
Talking Points Memo notes that this isn’t the first time Akin has suggested that
some types of rape are more worthy of protections than others. As a state legislator, Akin voted in 1991 for an anti-marital-rape law, but only after questioning whether it might be misused “in a real messy divorce as a tool and a legal weapon to beat up on the husband,” according to … the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Akin: making up shit to deny rape victims their rights since 1991!
Currently, Akin has a big lead in the polls over his Democratic rival, sitting Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Here’s the relevant portion of Akin’s interview; you can find the whole thing at the Talking Points Memo link above.
Pam… you saw the subtext. 🙂 😀 XD
So basically we’re back to Quiverfull people trying to close every loophole that might enable a woman to avoid being constantly pregnant for her entire adult life, again.
@pecunium,
Yes, and I had a hearty laugh at it!
I might have missed the boat on this conversation, but Shakesville’s post about this asshat contained the following:
If the victim of a rape doesn’t fit this description, then it wasn’t “forcible” and therefore “legitimate” rape. Ergo, the dirty slut was asking for it.
Hell, self-righteousmary believes that birth control pills and IUDs should be illegal, in addition to abortion. Here’s a portion of a comment she made at Complementarian Loners regarding a discussion she had with her gyno:
“I said, “Wait a minute, I’m on the pill, I can’t be ovulating.” And she told me that women often ovulate on the pill, especially on the progesterone-only pill, but not to worry because the pill causes changes in the uterine lining that make it hostile to the fertilized egg.
At that moment, I had a very horrible realization; I was possibly conceiving every month and spontaneously aborting due to the pill. I immediately stopped using birth control pills.
Along with abortion, birth control pills and IUDs should be illegal.“
@ Pam
See, this is the problem with people like Mary. Look at that bit you just quoted – she had a moment of realization that something she was doing might be against her own moral code, felt horrified, and therefore concluded that it should be illegal. Never mind that most people don’t share her moral code or her religious beliefs, or that a lot of women would react to the information she was given with a shrug and not be upset at all. It upset her, therefore it is terrible and must be banned.
Basically they’re just very selfish.
Holy shit, that list! 20 reasons why a woman WOMAN should be a virgin until her wedding night O.O (although, really, a lot of them were repeats).
However, this one:
I thought to myself, “Self, I wonder if that link leads to an actual study, or just some bible-thumping propaganda.”
Self was right. The source (Rocky Mountain Family Council brochure on abstinence) says
Whereas Wikipedia says
And google in general found a bunch of bible-thumping blogs touting the same “results” from studies done at the University of , but no hits on the actual studies or actual universities.
TL;dr: I call bullshit on Mary Sunshine.
Yep, let’s take away EVERYONE’S free will to choose, so that I don’t have to be uncomfortable.
Never mind that other self-identifying Christians, like myself, believe that her moral code is lacking.
BTW, I use “bible-thumping” as a derogatory term to refer to those christians who use scripture they clearly haven’t read or understood to bash people who disagree with them. It occurs to me that everybody out there who doesn’t live in my head might not be aware of that shorthand. I’m not attacking christians in general, just the buttheaded ones. Sorry if that was unclear.
“Shrink wrap your vagina until you get married and then relate to your husband like an obedient dog for the rest of your life” is a pretty poor substitute for a moral code, in my opinion.
ROTFLMAO!!! I’m surprised that she didn’t actually include that in her list.
I do indeed disagree with the Senator with regards to “legitimate rape”; I agree with the President’s take on the situation with respect to rape. However- and listen up- Barack Obama agrees with Boobzland.
Far from exposing any sort of “misogyny”, this whole imbroglio seems indicative of a feminist culture- now crucifying the man who went against the grain. In other words, a lone voice is the exception that proves the rule.
Criticizing a creepy dude-politician who doesn’t have even a basic understanding of science and yet doesn’t let that stop him from pontificating, a dude that even r/mr acknowledges is an ignoramus, that proves a feminist culture? Oh Steele, you really are adorably dumb.
Sandra Fluke was NOT talking about herself, btw, she was talking about someone she knew at Georgetown who had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) who needed the Pill to control it since HBC is the only treatment we have for PCOS. Even though the school’s own rules said the pill should be covered under their insurance since the woman had a note from her doctor, the school still refused to pay just because.
That woman lost an ovary to that illness. It was preventable, but the school refused to cover it.
AND Fluke’s testimony was about the student insurance that she was paying for, that all the women who attended the school that she mentioned were paying for. She was not demanding free birth control for anyone, or subsidized birth control from taxpayers. She was demanding that the health insurance she was paying for cover all her medical needs without restriction.
(I get a bit short-tempered on this subject since I have PCOS and lost one of my ovaries to it thanks to the negligence of my OBGYN.)
From Unimaginative
Not to derail or get all “me” on this, but (with the probable exception of “pretty/beauty”) that pretty much describs me and my rapes (even down to the “sensible shoes”!) and yet I still didn’t report them, because I knew (and know) that there is almost no chance of the authorities or most people doing anything other than harrassing me and just generally being awful to me and making things even worse. So, you know, “legitimate” rapes don’t really “count”, either.
Yes, clearly the fact that the president of a single country agrees with feminists that rape is a bad thing proves that we are living in a feminist society. That isn’t at all the lowest possible bar you could set, and it certainly isn’t the case that this president is frequently and vocally opposed by a substantial number of politicians who do not share that view, and it would be ridiculous to suggest that even this president can be criticized for his weak or nonexistent stances on several other issues of importance to feminists.
Rahu, that sucks. I’m sorry that happened to you, and I’m sorry we live in a culture in which any rape doesn’t “count”.
Thanks, Unimaginative!
BTW, if it’s of any help to fellow PCOS-ers out there, I manage mine by eating like a diabetic. The cause of my polycysts seems to be my hormones getting all fucked up by too much sugar -> insulin resistance -> too much insulin -> too much testosterone. When I keep my blood sugar under control, my symptoms essentially disappear and I get more-or-less regular menses. When I say fuck it and carbo load (or sweet binge), the pause between menses gets longer and the PMS symptoms are horrible.
Rahu, I’m sorry that happened to you 🙁
Thank you, Katz!
Btw, what is your icon?
You are the first person who has asked! It is Chimera of Arezzo.
I’m sorry Rahu that’s terrible :/
Katz, that is seriously cool – the statue and the article that you linked to – and I had no idea that western dragons were linked to chimeras!
Snowy, thank you so much!
@Unimaginative- I have PCOS as well. I take metformin in addition to a low-glycemic index diet. I eat similarly to a diabetic as well. In my first pregnancy, I developed gestational diabetes, but was able to control it with diet and exercise. It resolved after I gave birth, but it caused my body to attack my thyroid and kill it, so now I have to take thyroid replacement pills.
So far in my second pregnancy, I’ve been able to semi-carb-load without having to worry about high blood sugar, but I’m still checking my sugars, and sometimes if I *really* overdo it, I get a higher number, but nothing dangerous. The doctors are AMAZED that I got pregnant two times without having to use clomid or other fertility medications. My husband is (not surprisingly) pretty proud of himself for being able to impregnate a woman who was deemed hormonally infertile by several doctors after my bloodwork came back. I think this is also due to me being in my early/mid 20’s, as PCOS tends to get worse with age. Once I finish having this baby, I am going back to my Mirena IUD. Unfortunately, birth control pills caused me to develop high blood pressure (which went away when I went off of it), but the Mirena’s localized hormone basically keeps my periods small or non-existant while not affecting my BP (yay!).
I also exercise every day for at least 30 minutes a day. For me, cycling is my exercise of choice because it’s low impact. It helps me feel good and lowers my blood sugars as well.
Anyway, that’s what has helped with me. And yeah, eating sugar or high carb meals can make me feel a bit icky, but I generally try to just up my exercise after eating like that (even just taking a walk helps) and I tend to be ok. I am of the opinion that eating intuitively and enjoying foods that I like, even if they aren’t the “best” ever, is worth it. Besides, I find myself eating less sugary things when I allow myself a little bit. But that’s just me! 🙂
There is a fucking huge difference between people using their religious freedom to make choices for themselves and trying to use “religious freedom” as an excuse to control everyone else around them. Can’t they all just fuck off to their own batshit religious island or something already?