Posted on August 20, 2012 |
"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Rep. Todd Akin, in defending his stance against an exception for bans on abortions for survivors of rape and incest, claimed that women who are raped don't get pregnant.
There are so many things wrong with this horrifying sentence that it is hard to know where to begin. Here are my top 5:
- A Member of the United States Congress uttered it.
- The suggestion of "legitimate" rape. I'm not even sure what that means. My guess is that Akin meant a rape by a stranger. The idea that the only "real rape" is one by a stranger jumping out from behind the bushes is an outdated myth that for years was used to keep women from pursuing justice through the legal system. It also suggests that if a woman who was raped got pregnant, she must have somehow "wanted it" or else her body's super-pregnancy stopping powers would have kicked in. In fact, the mere phrasing he chose, "legitimate rape" is disturbing in itself. It sounds like there are some rapes that are OK, legal . . . . you know, legitimate.
