Another fucking moron.

[Deleted]

2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/steve-king-statutory-rape.php

Rep. Steve King: I’ve Never Heard Of A Girl Getting Pregnant From Statutory Rape Or Incest


EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO AUGUST 21, 2012, 12:12 PM 25327
Rep. Steve King, one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, was one of the few Republicans who did not strongly condemn Rep. Todd Akin Monday for his remarks regarding pregnancy and rape. King also signaled why — he might agree with parts of Akin’s assertion.

King told an Iowa reporter he’s never heard of a child getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest.

“Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way,” King told KMEG-TV Monday, “and I’d be open to discussion about that subject matter.”

A Democratic source flagged King’s praise of Akin in the KMEG interview to TPM. But potentially more controversial for King is his suggestion that pregnancies from statutory rape or incest don’t exist or happen rarely. A 1996 review by the Guttmacher Institute found “at least half of all babies born to minor women are fathered by adult men.”

The tie between statutory rape and teen pregnancy has been the subject of ad campaigns from groups like United Way.

H.R. 3, the bill co-sponsored by King, Akin and Paul Ryan in 2011, originally called for an exemption in the federal ban on abortion funding only in the case of “forcible rape.” That language was dropped after pressure from women’s advocates and Democrats. At the time, the Republican sponsors of the legislation weren’t too interested in discussing their reasoning for the wording.

RELATED: Todd Akin Says Victims of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don’t Get Pregnant
King’s comments offer a window into the thinking behind the language, as well as the general belief in the different categories of rape that provoked Akin’s recent controversial comments about “legitimate rape” and the factually wrong idea that a woman’s body can prevent a pregnancy from rape.

In the KMEG interview, King defended Akin as “a strong Christian man, with a wonderful family” and appeared to push back on those calling for Akin to drop out of the Missouri Senate race.

“I think this election should be about: How did Todd Akin vote and what did he vote for and what did he stand for?” King said. “In this case, I’m seeing the same thing, petty, personal attacks substituting for strong policy.”

[simpsongal]

Does anyone think Akin's understanding/opinion on a major women's health issue is a "petty, personal attack"? didn't think so....

F'ing moron. Keep it coming, let the people see the naked Emperor.

ETA: Not good company for Ryan to be in.....

[phunluvin82]

On NPR this morning, they were talking about Akin...and the commentator cited several other Republicans who have made statements in the past that indicate a similar belief that a woman can't get (or rarely gets) pregnant from rape.

I don't recall their names now, but apparently one said that the woman's body has certain 'secretions' that kick in to prevent pregnancy...and another cited some sort of bodily function that is 'like God's shield', but then later denied ever having said it.

So, apparently this belief is not that uncommon in certain circles...which, in 2012, is really mind boggling and appalling to me.

[explorer2001]

Do you think there would even be a discussion if this could possibly happen to them? No there would be all kinds of legislation protecting their rights to control their own body and true serious prosecution of people who violated those rights, not all this excuse making, victim blaming, science ignoring BS!

[phunluvin82]

Aug 21, 2012 12:25:12 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

Do you think there would even be a discussion if this could possibly happen to them? No there would be all kinds of legislation protecting their rights to control their own body and true serious prosecution of people who violated those rights, not all this excuse making, victim blaming, science ignoring BS!

:Y:

[crazygame]

This whole thing makes me sick. I can't imagine how horrifying it is for every woman who has become pregnant due to rape.

[ijack]

It blows my mind that there are educated people in this world that believe shit like this

[sockerheel]

This makes me sad for the human race.

[livinitup]

This man has been elected to represent his community and he's NEVER personally come in contact with a pregnant teen who's baby-daddy is some grown man with 5 other baby momma's?? Take a walk through my city's public high school with its 60% drop-out rate. It's not hard to see EVIDENCE of pregnancy due to statutory rape. What to discuss THAT idiot?

And I remember learning about the PG =/= Rape myth way back in health class. Back when they discussed your body and how it functioned in schools. Something like reaching orgasm helps move the sperm to the egg, so it was theorized that if a woman became pregnant she had to be enjoying herself to reach climax. Screwed-up mind bender logic. At least they taught that the theory was out-dated and wrong.

[statlerwaldorf]

Jaycee Dugard...

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 12:41:33 GMT -5 ijack said:

It blows my mind that there are educated people in this world that believe shit like this

Same here. People running for office or in office, no less. It's scary.

[hannamaren]

There are so many examples on talk shows ALL The time. I think Montel Williams had young mothers raped by their fathers on his show once a week. It was heartbreaking. I think that is where I was first exposed to it.

And back to the original comment and apology. I hate that the apology only apologized for the use of the word "legitimate". Um, what about the rest of your fucking statement, dickwad?

[milkrations]

Aug 21, 2012 12:41:33 GMT -5 ijack said:

It blows my mind that there are educated people in this world that believe shit like this

news.yahoo.com/rape-trauma-barrier-pregnancy-no-scientific-basis-235231028.html

Apparently, their scientific knowledge hasn't advanced beyond the Middle Ages.

[phunluvin82]

Aug 21, 2012 13:10:57 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

There are so many examples on talk shows ALL The time. I think Montel Williams had young mothers raped by their fathers on his show once a week. It was heartbreaking. I think that is where I was first exposed to it.

And back to the original comment and apology. I hate that the apology only apologized for the use of the word "legitimate". Um, what about the rest of your fucking statement, dickwad?

Seriously! Like the rest of his statement was perfectly accurate and acceptable if only you substitute the word 'forcible' in place of 'legitimate.'

Um, newsflash: forcible is not much better...it still implies that some rapes are not 'really' actual rapes. Rape is rape. Period. AND...the rest of your statement is still fuckingbatshitcrazy/stupid!!!

If you can't tell, this whole thing seriously makes me see red.

[ejpint]

I'm so ashamed he's from Iowa. He's an idiot all. the. time.

[kellbell191]

Note, these are the same people who believe in God. You know, the big guy in the sky you can't see or touch.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 12:25:12 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

Do you think there would even be a discussion if this could possibly happen to them? No there would be all kinds of legislation protecting their rights to control their own body and true serious prosecution of people who violated those rights, not all this excuse making, victim blaming, science ignoring BS!

Qft.

[Deleted]

It's an opinion piece, but worth reading:
www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/opinion/granderson-gop-rape-abortion/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Editor's note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and is a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs

(CNN) -- They will say this is about one person.

It is not.

They will attempt to distance themselves from the controversy.

But they can't.

They will even try to claim the whole conversation is a distraction from the "real issues."

And yet they never shy away from using this same conversation to fire up their base, or hurl attack ads or raise funds.


LZ GrandersonThe truth is the "legitimate rape" comment made by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin -- as in pregnancy from "legitimate rape" is rare -- is not a GOP anomaly, but rather another disturbing glimpse into the viewpoint too many social conservatives have about women's health and reproductive rights. And if abortion is not among the "real issues," why is the GOP platform committee considering adding a ban, with no mention of exceptions, to this year's to-do list?

Last March, in a discussion in the Kansas House about whether women purchase separate abortion-only policies, Republican state Rep. Pete DeGraaf suggested women should plan ahead for rape the way he keeps a spare tire. A few weeks later, Indiana state Rep. Eric Turner, a Republican, said some women might fake being raped in order to get free abortions.

Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum suggested doctors who perform an abortion on a woman who becomes pregnant from an attack should be thrown in jail and this year suggested rape victims who become pregnant from an attack should be forced to keep the baby and "make the best out of a bad situation."

Please.

More than 200 Republican members of Congress joined him in co-sponsoring House Resolution 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, when it contained language restricting the exception for federally funded abortions to "an act of forcible rape or, if a minor, an act of incest."

Forcible rape.

That's not too far from "legitimate rape"

So vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan can try to backpedal away from Akin as fast as he can, but his name is still on the record in support of that bill, with that language. He can say he's in line with Mitt Romney and would not ban abortions in the case of rape, but it's his name attached to House Resolution 212: Sanctity of Human Life Act, which would have done just that.

No wonder Romney chose Ryan as his running mate; he admires the speed with which the congressman from Wisconsin flip-flops.

So yes, the current general election conversation may be largely about Medicare. The dialogue may eventually work its way back to the economy and jobs. But don't think for a second that social issues -- particularly abortion -- are not in the GOP's sights. Since the tea party helped pull the GOP back into power in 2010 -- under the guise of controlling government spending -- close to 1,000 anti-abortion bills have been introduced across the country. I can't think of anything approaching that number of bills with the goal of creating jobs in that same time span, can you?

At a Personhood USA "tele-town hall meeting" in December, Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry all said they would work to outlaw all abortions, regardless of the circumstances. You can fully expect a Republican Congress to move quickly to ban all abortions, regardless of circumstances.

And given that a would-be President Romney said, "I will protect a woman's right to choose," when he was running for Massachusetts governor in 2002, only to become an anti-abortion advocate while running for president, there's no telling which side of the issue he will fall on, on any given day.

Some social conservatives talk of protecting religious freedom, but what they are really seeking is a theocracy that places limits on freedom based on a version of Judeo-Christianity that fits their liking. That language is also being considered for the GOP's national platform. Some speak of fighting abortion because of their religious convictions and then belittle the trauma caused by rape.

They think they can make this controversy all about Akin, as if Ryan's legislative history is just going to disappear. As if DeGraaf never suggested women should plan ahead for rape the way he keeps a spare tire. As if none of us are paying attention.

But we are.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 14:57:36 GMT -5 kellbell191 said:

Note, these are the same people who believe in God. You know, the big guy in the sky you can't see or touch.