Akin Vows To Stay In Missouri Senate Race

BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. LOUIS — Congressman Todd Akin is again vowing to stay in the Missouri Senate race, despite the uproar over his comments that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape.” Akin told former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on a radio show today that he’s staying in because there are people who feel they aren’t represented by the major political parties. Akin has been frantically trying to salvage his once-promising bid against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in a race targeted by the GOP as crucial to regaining control of the Senate.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Akin Under Pressure To Quit Senate Race

Guest:

Erika Lovley, editor at Politico

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Ohkevman

Ignorance of medical science requires the apology of not spouting your ignorance and get the facts before speaking.
Robert Foster

I and all the fellow pro-life (or, in your idiom, “anti-abortion rights”) colleagues that I know find Rep. Akin’s comments repulsive in principle, and not for merely strategic reasons. However, Mrs. Young and her guest Mr. McDermott claimed that anti-abortion groups make the same claim about “legitimate rape.” I respectfully ask that they substantiate such claims or withdraw their statements and apologize for them. Does Mrs. Young or Mr. McDermott have evidence that major pro-life organizations hold a position similar to that expressed by Rep. Akin, or is this another example of NPR projecting onto reality its ridiculous stereotypes of what people outside of their bubble “must” be like.
- J__o__h__n
  
  Do you support the right of a raped woman to have an abortion? If not, you are just quibbling about the language Akin used.
  - Robert Foster
    
    Hi John.
    
    Your question is illegitimate, as I hope a moment’s reflection on its opposite will show:
    
    Do you support the right of a human being not to be murdered on account of the circumstances–however horrible–of its origin? If not, the difference between you and a child killer is just quibbling about language.
    
    This is the inverse of what you posted, and both suffer from the same logical (though not rhetorical) shortcomings.
    
    For the record, I do support the legal option of abortion in the case of a rape, but not its moral legitimacy.
- Rachel Rohr
  
  Hi Robert. I’m a producer at Here & Now. Here’s a link the Washington Post article that we used as a reference. Please refer to the part about National Right to Life.
  
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/20/rep-todd-akin-is-wrong-about-rape-and-pregnancy-but-hes-not-alone/
  
  Thanks,
  Rachel
- Rachel Rohr
  
  Hi Robert. I’m a producer at Here & Now. Here’s a link to the Washington Post article that we used as a reference. Please refer to the part about National Right to Life.
  
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/20/rep-todd-akin-is-wrong-about-rape-and-pregnancy-but-hes-not-alone/
  
  Thanks,Rachel
  - Robert Foster
    
    Thanks for this information, Rachel.
    
    If Wilke’s assertions have been accurately reported by the Post, they are indeed disturbing. I plan to explore this as soon as time permits.
    
    In the meantime, I must point out 1) that the Post drew on a statement now well over a decade old, and 2) that in the portion quoted, Wilke did not actually imply, as did Akin, that a rape resulting in pregnancy might not have been a “legitimate rape” with the corresponding, repulsive implication that such rapes were less than traumatic.
    
    Robert
  - MsTee
    
    It is not a new idea. Back in the 80s, when I was in middle school, I was given a pamphlet that said the exact same thing. I believed it up until high school. It’s nothing but propaganda, meant to confuse and guilt girls like me (at the time). Thankfully, I was never raped. But I shudder to think how many girls got that same pamphlet and were raped.
- Lux
  
  It would be Ms. Young. Why are you assuming she’s married?
  - Robert Foster
    
    I made no such assumption. I was taught once upon a day that “Mrs.” was the default term. Although I know that this is now passe, I slip into it from time to time. For most of my adult life, any woman whom I addressed with a title was either “mom” or “Dr. _____.” Since I have not had to worry about “Mrs.” / “Ms.,” I on occasion revert to the old habit unconsciously. In any case, I would not have thought the issue germane to the point at hand.
    - MsTee
      
      When I was a little runt, I asked my mom what the difference was between Miss and Mrs. She said, and I quote “MRS means you’re married. MISS means you are not married. MS means none of your business.” It was at that moment, at the age of 8 or 9, I decided I would always be addressed as MS.