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What an amazing gift these fools are handing to the democrats. I guess the best part is that these aren't gaffes - just verbal admissions of what the extreme end of the pro-life camp believe.
It's incredible that the national conversation has shifted in this direction.
This ad is called "forgiveness:"
No one actually believes that Todd Akin is pro-rape. His problem is that he spouted off biologically false nonsense and used the term "legitimate rape" while discussing the subject on television. This suggests that Akin is either terribly misinformed, profoundly ill-equipped to run a competent Senate campaign, or not especially bright. Or perhaps some combination of the three. When one is forced to begin a political ad with a "clarification" that "rape is an evil act," one is in very...
It's great that he actually said these things out loud, but in truth groups like the FRC have been saying them for a long time.
Idiots are not a Republican or Democrat thing. (Although I would say there are more on the left)
Because if you were, you would surely have heard this argument.
Here's an essay, with footnotes worth following:
http://www.equip.org/articles/abortion-and-rape-answering-the-arguments-for-abortion-rights/
It lays out the argument as I've heard it from childhood. First, that you should punish the rapist, not the unborn fetus. Second, that rapes rarely if ever cause pregnancy due to reactions in the female body during the trauma, hence that rape is brought up by pro-choice folks to make pro-life folks look insensitive.
This is actually the position of the hardline pro-lifer. Not some gaffe or mistake on Akin's part.