Legitimately Akin to ignorance

I love the USA. No, seriously- come back, let me explain. Despite the various flaws that come to our attention every now and again, America is really a great country a lot of the time: full of people who are generally friendly and open. Their ‘we can accomplish anything’ attitude and general excitability is often mocked by Brits when really, it’s enviable; it’s something I’d like to see more often in this country. A lot of the vitriol towards the US comes from a suspicious regard of the spread of its influence, which is vast compared to the rest of the world. Argue all you want about emerging political powers; America is certainly the focus of eyes all over the world the majority of the time.

However, this means when there are true examples of stupidity, they are widely publicised. I very much doubt anyone in the US would be aware of MP George Galloway’s controversial comments as he came out in support of Julian Assange, but the words of one particular American politician have made it across the pond, and demonstrated a worrying, even from this distance, level of ignorance.

In case you’re unaware, or need reminding, this is what Todd Akin, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, who this year is running for the senate seat in Missouri, said in response to a question about abortion in the case of rape:

> “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is 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.”>

Thinking about it, it’s not quite as funny as Donald Rumsfeld’s ‘known unknowns’ spiel, is it? There is a serious problem rooted in this painfully misinformed statement. I’m honestly not sure which doctors Akin has been speaking to, unless perhaps it was Dr. Robotnik or perhaps Dr John Zoidberg. Possibly he just interpreted the film Teeth as some kind of vividly detailed medical documentary. In any case, this is an incredible display of ignorance from a Congressman who currently sits on the Science Committee, and who was leading in the Missouri senate polls over the Democrat incumbent.

Akin is obviously extremely pro-life, even more so than the Romney-Ryan partnership claim to be, as they have frantically reiterated their support for abortions in the case of rape since the story broke. Romney has even called on Akin to stand down, which may finally destroy Akin’s poll lead, which fell nine points after his comments so that he only led by one circa Monday.

Akin’s use of the term ‘legitimate rape’ raises many questions about the classification of sexual assault in America, which is especially important in states with strict abortion laws. What Akin meant to use was the term ‘forcible rape’, that is, ‘sexual assault’ with emphasis on the latter word- a rape that is particularly violent. Anything else to Akin cannot be classified as real, ‘legitimate’ rape. This is a classic misunderstanding of what the term rape even means, and this must prove a problem to women in the United States.

True, not every pro-lifer lacks any sort of biological knowledge whatsoever, but there is often a tendency across the American right wing to sometimes absolve the rapist of blame, shifting it on to the victim. In this case, Akin infers that since (according to his mythical doctors) a pregnancy could not result from a physical attack, in the event of a pregnancy after rape there is some element of blame towards the woman in allowing it- either in not “shutting that whole thing down” or in claiming rape falsely. All in order to oppose individual instances of abortion. Akin, indeed, talks about the rapist and the child, but doesn’t mention the women involved or how they may feel, or whether they even have any impact on his policies or not (spoiler alert: they don’t).

The USA is the land of the free, right? There are no Western democracies that subjugate their women, right? American women don’t have to cover up, it’s true (though some Canadian policemen would argue that this is part of the problem). However, clothing seems to be the only decision women would be able to make about their bodies if the world obeyed the views of men like Todd Akin. Politicians should know better than this, you would think. Even if you are pro-life, to be so misinformed and yet so stubborn in an opinion is just astounding. America, I love you- I just wish some of your politicians would get some biology lessons.