[This story has been updated since the original posting. Please see the end of the article for updated information.]
Keep diggin’ that hole Republicans, and dig it deep, because it’s going to be your own political grave.
In the wake of Todd Akin’s moronic and ignorant comments about “legitimate rape,” you would think the Republican Party would have the good sense to just shut the hell up about rape in general. But no, they just can’t help themselves as they stand in judgment of the female race, like some sick and twisted wanna be paternal figure who’s really a closet sadist.
Take, for instance, Idaho Republican Chuck Winder. Winder is the sponsor of that state’s “Double Ultrasound Bill,” which would require women to have an ultrasound before they can access any abortion services. These ultrasounds would be offered “free of charge,” but women would have to have them performed at an anti-choice crisis pregnancy center, where anti-choice operatives would do their best to talk women out of terminating their pregnancies. Then, if the woman decides to go through with the termination, she would have to fork over the cash for a second ultrasound, which would be performed by the abortion physician.
Now, Winder is wondering whether women, mindless, fragile women, are capable of knowing what rape even is. Addressing his detractors — women’s groups who claim his double ultrasound law traumatizes women who are the victims of rape and incest, and for whom there are no exceptions — Winder wondered in March of this year:
“Rape and incest was used as a reason to oppose this. I would hope that when a woman goes in to a physician with a rape issue, that physician will indeed ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape. I assume that’s part of the counseling that goes on.”
Let me make this simple, you thick-headed buffoon, and I’ll even put it in language you can understand. A man walks up to a woman and asks her, “Can we have sex,” to which the woman responds, “No, we cannot.” After her reply, if a man forces sexual contact on her in any way, that is what’s called rape. And yes, women know how to make that distinction. There is generally no confusion.
What this oxygen thief is implying is that women are either stupid or just a bunch of lying, scheming whores, which plays into every negative stereotype ever created about women, which is exactly what men like Winder mean to imply, because they’re a bunch of aging, misogynist creeps who don’t like the fact that women can actually run their own lives without the oversight of men, which is really what this war on women is all about.
But keep it up, GOP. We’re writing your obituary as we speak.
Updated 8/22/12:
Blogger’s Note: In the interest of fairness, these comments were made by Chuck Winder in March. For whatever reason, this story just hit our news feed this week, and I ran with it without checking the date, but I don’t apologize for that and I stand by the post. Just because these comments were from March, that doesn’t mean he didn’t say them and it doesn’t make them any less relevant. In fact, in my mind, at least, it shows the sustained attack women’s reproductive rights have been under from Republicans. As I said in a comment below, ignoring these statements, brushing them off, or acting as if they don’t matter because they’re coming from an extremist, is exactly what has allowed Republicans to get the upper hand in the war on women. So, my bad, I didn’t check the date, but I still believe his comments are worth noting, relevant to the current discussion over Todd Akin’s comments, and because they represent the views of many, if not most in his party. All you have to do is look at their recently approved platform to figure that out.
Fight the War on Women — Slap Some Stew on Your Bumper:
About Beth
Angry white men. That’s what we’re dealing with…men who have watched their self-imposed superiority deteriorate little by little throughout the centuries, with the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights Act, Women’s rights. Women and minorities have slowly chewed away their power, and while they have been stewing about it, they are finally reaching the boiling point. They think now is the time to strike back, reign us in, and they think they’ve got the support to do it.
But I do believe they are in for a rude awakening. Women and minorities will not be subdued. Young people of all races, creeds, and genders are much different than these pasty-faced fools. We will fight back, we will hold on to what we have gained, and we will win.
Nancy, I love your fighting spirit! I’m with ya’, Sister!
We can’t take it for granted that everyone else will vote them out. We have to make sure we keep the energy up. And never let ourselves go to sleep (politically wise) again.
^This. The gap in the polls is not *that* big, and the Right(eous) is fighting hard to keep voters out of the polls. For the love of corn, get everyone out to vote.
FOR ALL woman we have to fight to not go back to the stone age ore the witches age
Women don’t have the right to cry rape on their husbands.There’s no such thing as rape in a marriage.Your body is no longer yours,alone.It is criminal to treat your husbands like some stranger.A stranger rapes you,not your husband.Any women who don’t see that,are selfish,man haters who”ll pay their betrayal of their husbands’ trust.Quit crying rape.Your husbands are not rapists.That’s selfish & mean.
“Your body is no longer yours,alone.” and “Rape is not that serious for women,anyway. Their bodies were built for our gratification.”
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but in case you aren’t, you can take those comments and shove them straight up your ass. You are a despicable excuse for a human being.
And your body is not yours, So when your mailorder bride becomes Americanized and she decides your body is not getting sexual pleasure and you try to force her boty to accept it from yours, don’t be suprised when you take that cast iron pot to the back of your head, or become Bubba’s new toy.
@ John Hughes, a man can indeed rape his wife. So many women live in abusive. controlling relationships! When a woman says no to any man, if he forces himself on her, it is RAPE!!!!
Yo-John — A wife walks up to her husband and hits him upside his head with a frying pan, is it assault, can’t be that’s why he’s there to be a punching bag. A woman walks up to a man pours boiling hot water on his crotch, can he claim battery, no because that’s why he’s there to give her a laugh, a woman sells her husbands new Mercedes for $50 because he left her for a younger woman and wants her to sell the Mercedes and send him half, is she a thief. Wake up John, theft is theft, battery is battery and Rape is Rape. You wanna know what is wrong with the world, YOU, get up off your dead ass, and if you will raise the $120K (50%) to send your behind to outer-space I know I can find another 119,999 dollars to kick yourself off of this planet and you want have to worry about us and we dam sure won’t have to worry about you. Any takers?
Great post Nancy! You’ve articulated my sentiments exactly! We can’t sit back on our laurels. We must continue to fight against the injustices the GOP want to impose on so many of our citizens including women, LGBT, minorities, elderly, students, poor, and sick. Isn’t ironic this party of judgment, hate, entitlement, and selfishness is supposedly the “Christian” party? I believe God is weeping at all the hate being spread in his name.
Women don’t have the right to cry rape on their husbands.There’s no such thing as rape in a marriage.Rape is not that serious for women,anyway.Their bodies were built for our gratification.
Let’s see how your ass handles a baseball bat!
You are not alone, ladies. There are many of us men who are also disgusted by the repugnant attitudes that seem to be the norm in the Republican party these days. We’ve got your back, and we’ll be voting to help keep these misogynistic idiots from ruining our country!
nancy, as much as I am disgusted with the sexism, racism, and prejudice of many people…I don’t think it really helps to call white men “pasty-faced fools.” You just end up sounding like someone who think it’s okay to use a phenotype as an insult. Which…is ignorant…to say the least.
As a life-long Idahoan (nearing social security age), a woman, mom and grandma, I am repulsed by the whole situation. First, any thinking individual knows at an elemental level what constitutes rape — force (physical or emotional), penetration. Second, that anyone would presume to attempt to categorize such an assault by attaching adjectives to the very clearly defined term RAPE (yes it is a four letter word), is beyond laughable if it weren’t so insultingly ignorant. I would like to submit that this is not limited to the “conservative or Republican” parties, but like every other ignorance based attempt to devalue women crosses the entire spectrum of males. I know that the majority of men are genuinely kind, caring, loving people who are repulsed by this hideous assault on women and girls (and yes men too), but it seems that by and large when the subject is opened for discussion only the truly ignorant seem to charge to the foreground.
Perhaps if the “Honorable” (term used loosely) Mr. Winder is unclear as to whether women are capable of knowing when they have been raped, I’m sure that the Idaho State Pennitentiary has any number of convicted rapists who would gladly participate in educating Mr. Winder and his female relatives. Then perhaps he could speak more intelligently to the subject of Rape. In the meantime, he should shut his mouth and fade into the background and hope that he escapes further notice.
This should not be a political issue, but one of compassion and concern. Any mother whose child has been the victim of rape, any family member who has seen the devastation of incest, any human being (male or female) who has witnessed the nightmare of rape or incest and the life-long scars left behind, will tell you that this isn’t something which needs to be debated. It is something which requires compassion, support for the victim, and swift decisive legal recourse against the perpetrator. Then with time, perhaps some healing can begin.
You know, if these men were raped, no pregnancy involved, too bad for them, its a gift they will never understand, but if they were raped, they might understand what it feels like. Now another thing, most of these men are closet homosexuals, it comes out in the news they are doing drugs with male prostitutes, so give the man some time to make his coming out debut, but I think they should experience it so they can say, Oh that was great, or Not so much, I say no, but imagine that, saying no had no effect. So if a woman doesn’t know what rape is, will an old man and if the man likes it, is it rape? So many questions. Just speaking from experience, you know when its rape. But I think its high time to let these men experience, it, just for knowledge sake.
The time has come, again, for us to gather up and let them know that we do not find their brand of stupid funny in the least. The time has come for us to stand up, again, together as a force to be heard. The time has come for them to shut up and sit down least they fall.
I’m an angry “white” male. I’m angry that the republicans are trying to take America back, back to the 1800′s that is. If the 400 wealthiest Americans have more than 50% of the population and we still can’t feed the hungry, clothes the naked, shelter the homeless and protect the people from bodily and psychological harm – then what are we? Americans? Humans? We are failing on both fronts.
so glad you see he ligth ,remember in november
We need more angry men like you — from every walk of life!
Oxygen thief! lol
I think it would be hilarious to have a few of those clueless , angry, righteous old men dragged into an alley and shown what rape is. It would be a little different if they were on the receiving end of it, whether from a stranger or an acquaintance. Then, when and if (if they have the guts to go to the authorities) they can know what it’s like to be questioned as if you are the guilty party and perhaps they were “asking for it.” Yeah, the whole scenario would be worth its own reality show. Maybe on Lifetime……… the channel for women. I’ll bet the ratings would be thru the roof.
When did rape, of any sort, become hilarious? Isnt the point to STOP spreading hate, not encourage it? This post confuses me.
Almost speechless, here. You would find it hilarious, would you? As if it’s okay to use rape as a humorous teaching tool. Funny, that. Some rapists think the exact same thing. To them, it’s about ‘teaching them a lesson’, too.
See what you did, there?
I think it’s pretty clear that Dakota is being sarcastic and using a rather extreme and unrealistic idea to make a point, not to be taken literally. At least that’s my take. Let’s not get all indignant over someone’s method of expressing the fact that they are indeed on the same page that most of us are…horrified over the Republicans’ assault on women’s rights. Personally, I’d love to see Chuck Winder and Todd Akin anally violated and then questioned about it on a Lifetime reality show – much in the same way I’d like to see other types of offensive people ‘tarred and feathered then run out of town on a rail’. Get it?
Is there an original source for this quote? I’m doing some googling and I’d like to get the full context (not that I would expect it to absolve him in any way)
Hi Christian-
I got the quote from Jezebel (which I forgot to link to — my bad), and they said it was from his speech on the state House floor. It’s been confirmed by several other websites as well.
Christian, Winder said this, but not since Akins’ comments as the article implies. I believe it was said during debate of his bill for two ultrasounds several months ago. It was in the national news at the time he made it.
Does it really matter when he made the statement? It is still absurd regardless of when he said it…
This appears to have been posted by someone who actually heard the closing debate in which he made the statement. Didn’t try to find record of the debate as have no reason to do so.
http://m.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2012/mar/19/closing-debate-winder-compares-abortion-us-war-casualties/
Rape is when we don’t want to have sex and someone else doesn’t care. It’s when we say no and you hear yes. I’M NOT A MORON BUT YOU ARE old white guy misogynist pig!
Grrrr. This should be as big of a headline as Akin’s BS.
Not that I like defending these guys, but it sounded more like he was implying that if a woman is raped and then finds out she’s pregnant, he wants it established whether the pregnancy resulted from the rape or from consensual sex that may have happened with a different partner around the same time. At no point in the quote do I see any evidence that he thinks women don’t know the difference between rape and consensual sex. He is trying to clarify that if a woman is raped and also impregnated at about the same time from a different encounter, then she shouldn’t be eligible for an abortion. Not much better, but lets not get distracted by the boy who cried wolf when we are surrounded by wolves in every direction but.
katpiercemusic: You’re missing the broader picture, and I’m sorry to be what you might deem as being heartless here, but the fact of the matter is, a woman should not have to explain her choice. Period. End of story.
Exactly. I am so tired of discussing the why and the how and the reason for an abortion. It’s the woman’s body and it should be her choice and between her and her doctor.
I think they’re going to be bringing up Eve and Lilith any day now…..
I’m not disagreeing with you or missing the bigger picture. I still disagree with him. I disagree with the whole notion that someone else should be deciding what’s best for my body. I just think that we shouldn’t be misrepresenting this guy. It’s dishonest and should be beneath us. It’s the sort of slimy underhanded tactics that conservative pundits use and I want no part of it.
There are enough instances of this level of misogyny that we don’t need to invent them. This guy is your average republican anti abortionist. His view, while not mine, are well within the mainstream (that abortions should only be performed in extreme cases like rape). Let’s not go looking for more Todd Akins in the land of John Boehners.
If you wouldn’t mind, tell me what exactly is misrepresenting him? He’s suggesting that if a woman walks into a doctor’s office to ask for an abortion — still legal under federal law — dues to rape — which does happen within marriages, by the way — that either she’s lying and that it was really part of consensual sex, or that she has no idea what constitutes a rape, and therefore requires a good sitting down from the doctor to discover which scenario is the case. Either way, the aim is to remove her choice over her own body.
As for “looking for more Todd Akins…” Akin’s views, along with Winder’s are all part of a bigger picture within the Republican Party that can no longer be ignored by women. Ignoring them is how they’ve managed to make the inroads against women and women’s rights that they already have.
Nowhere in that statement does he say, or imply that a woman doesn’t understand the difference between Consensual Sex, and Rape. What Katpiercemusic is trying to point out to you is that Chuck Winder wants Physicians to question women as to whether their pregnancy could have come from a consensual sexual encounter which happened before the rape. I agree that it’s irrelevant, and none of his business, but your Article does misrepresent his comments.
I agree with you, Mike. Although it seems this guy is a jerk and has some skewed views of things, this headline is sensationalized. He did not say what the headline says. I get so sick of that with media. Just tell us what was ACTUALLY said and let us draw our own conclusions.
“…was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape. I assume that’s part of the counseling that goes on.”
i think katpiercemusic is making a very valid point here. there is nothing in this quote that implies that he believes women in general are “…lying and that it was really part of consensual sex, or that she has no idea what constitutes a rape”.
his quote only implies that he believes a discussion should take place between the doctor and patient regarding possible reasons for the pregnancy. fact is, if a woman has unprotected sex with more than one man, consensual or otherwise, in a close enough time period, there is no way to be sure who the father is.
i completely agree with your views on abortion, i would like to see abortion fully legal for any and all reasons, up to the 2nd trimester. but you’re twisting the words of this man just as badly as the same people you rail against. stop lowering yourself to their level.
That is one possible way to interpret that section, if you bend over backwards to give the guy any credit.
Or, more likely from the bigger picture, he does not believe, for example, that marital rape is an actual rape. And yes, it does imply that the woman may be lying or is confused. Why else would she need to be questioned? I’m sure the woman is aware of when and if she had consensual sex near the time of the rape. Part of the standard exam tells you how far along the fetus is.
It’s not really twisting his words at all.
“That is one possible way to interpret that section, if you bend over backwards to give the guy any credit.”
principle of charity. It’s what most intellectually honest people do.
Thank you Beth. Rape does occur between married couples and the fact that a person is married makes the crime no less offensive.
Thank you Beth for this article. Perhaps we would need more of the speech to be absolutely sure, however like you I picked up a tone of suspicion or grilling the victim in his quote. Insensitive at the very least. And how the heck is she or anyone else going to know who the father is if sex with her mate happened within days!! But still all of this does not matter – SHE should have the choice no matter what happened! There is no twisting of Winder’s words, the “counseling” he is talking about is insinuating and demeaning.
katpiercemusic, “He is trying to clarify that if a woman is raped and also impregnated at about the same time from a different encounter, then she shouldn’t be eligible for an abortion”.
You are implying if a woman has relations with her husband and then is raped by another man shortly after, she should only qualify for a 50% chance to have an abortion – should she flip a coin?
Katpiercemusic: the quote specifically states that a woman goes in to her physician with a rape issue, implying that the woman already knows she’s been raped. So now this physician is going to ask, ‘are you SURE it was a rape and not consensual sex with your honey?’. But because a woman doesn’t always present bloody and bruised as a result of rape, her judgement comes into question.
Nevermind that that it perpetrates the myth that women are too weak and stupid to make informed decisions (which may or may not involve a man) about their own, reproductive health, but it gives people the right to force a pregnancy upon a woman despite the fact that pregnancy is NOT risk free.
This is not about angry white men. This is about angry white Conservative men. I’m a white Liberal Progressive male and do not share their views.
Government out of our healthcare decisions!
Gee…I seem to be reading that quote differently. If I were raped and then found myself pregnant, I would probably like to find out if the child was my husband’s before killing it.
Yes. And it should be YOUR choice to do that.
And what if your husband was the one who raped you? Would you still want his baby, even if the time you actually conceived was consensual? Remember, even if it was consensual sex that made your baby, your husband is still a rapist in this scenario.
robots…. I don’t understand what you are saying. If a woman is raped by her husband, by definition, it was not consensual. She was raped! If a woman says no to her (abusive?) husband it is rape. Men do not OWN their wives (in Western cultures)!
Well lot’s of illegitimate rape occurs after nights of drinking and flirting. We’ve all been there. You get close to one of these drunken bimbos that asks you to give them a ride home and they have the gall to pass out in your car.. What’s a guy supposed to do? You ask them for some head but they’re for all intent and purposes they’re dead, so you take their non-response as a yes. What’s wrong with that? You put their clothes back on after you’re done and carry their lifeless body to the front door. They don’t remember what happened when they come to so no harm no foul. That’s not rape it’s a non no. So being the last one to leave the bar can on occasion pay off. Patience.
Paul Ryan is a rapist! My goodness, look what he just described! Jeeeez!!! Why don’t you try, you stay away from the drunken bimbo or you take her lifeless body to the front door without first ravaging it! So if I asked you if I should shoot you in the head or through your eyeball, and because you are too drunk to respond, I should chose your eyeball or head and kill you? Does your inability to response give me the right to take your life? Well that is what you are say, my dear! I feel bad for the uterus that bore you into this world! She did not do a good job at all – you are a disgrace.
And as for the victim not remembering, so no harm no foul, you are seriously deluded! Try, HIV, Chlamydia, Syphilis etc! Then you will know you have plenty of harm and plenty of foul in your foul stinking little world and if you think a condom will protect you, take it from a Biochemist of 17 years, that it would not!
I wish you what you wish upon your fellow man or woman!
Um, Tara…you do know that someone who pretends to be Paul Ryan may well be using sarcasm, right?
Um, Tara…
The “Paul Ryan” post was satire, I believe. Do you really think the GOP VP Nominee really posted on here? Some critical reading, please.
My comment was not directed at your VP nominee Paul Ryan as I am well aware that he would not have posted here unless of course you are saying there is can only be one Paul Ryan in this world? It may very well be satirical, yes – but if he is impersonating or pretending to be that Paul Ryan then good luck to him. It is all clear in the content of his post. The joke is not on me, but thanks for your comment.
To social conservatives, if a woman gets raped:
1) she was probably dressed scantily and therefore had it coming.
2) it was God’s will, so give thanks for the blessed event.
3) sh*t happens, so suck it up and deal with it.
4) what’s “rape”?
Truthfully, there is no war on women. Hear me out!
There is a few idiotic, misogynistic politicians speaking bullshit, the rest is just the idiot media parroting and sensationalizing what these few idiots say. Women are equal to men, despite what these idiot republicans would like to believe. The words of a few bad eggs does not a national consensus make. Besides, they’re republicans, just talking heads, nothing more.
Bob – With all due respect, you’re wrong. It’s not a “few idiotic, misogynistic politicians.” We need to all be aware that the GOP has waged a “war” on women’s reproductive rights, etc. over the past two years.
We submit the following as Exhibit A — http://veracitystew.com/2012/05/11/no-war-on-women-our-big-a-chart-says-youre-wrong/
And the GOP has now officially adopted the “personhood” language in their party platform, Exhibit B — http://veracitystew.com/2012/08/21/gop-convention-watch-republicans-adopt-anti-woman-platform/
Oh! I HOPE you’re right, that the GOP is digging its own grave!! I remain concerned that too many people may be bamboozled by these a-holes. I live in WI, which produced Paul Ryan, and it seems that lots of people here think he’s going to save the country.
Gross misrepresentation here. He said “…ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape.” His point is if a married women gets raped by a third party (not her husband) and finds out later she is pregnant, the doctor should question if the pregnancy is due to the rape, or from normal sexual intercourse with the husband. Nowhere does he say a woman doesn’t know what rape is, but rather may not know if the pregnancy was due to the rape. Now, you may not agree with that and don’t care if the pregnancy was due to the rapist or the husband, and that’s cool. But what you’re accusing this guy of saying is simply not true.
Just curious, if a woman had consensual sex and was also raped on the same day how would she or that doctor know which sperm impregnated that egg? Of course if the rapist was her partner, that’s moots the point. Anyway, it’s more funny science from someone who learned “abstinence only”, if you ask me.
I fear one thing. That all this talk about Rape And Incest exceptions is designed to give Democrats a sense of victory when they are actually losing a battle that should be impossible to lose.
Roe V Wade is the law of the land….it is a constitutional law which has withstood all challenges and it is not dealing with rape and incest, it is dealing with a woman’s right to choose. So, while they fake you out with exceptions for rape and incest, you forget that you already have constitutionally protected rights to choice.
Republicans make very expensive decisions in this country, and they do it by presenting an extreme view so that when the opposition fights that extreme view, the result is exactly what Republicans want, it just seems like they didn’t win, and it just seems like you won.
Republicans have no interest in a United Nation, so what do they do? They accuse the President of trying to divide the country, when in fact, they are pushing for states rights. They are winning. This country is more divided than ever, and more and more Republican controlled states are overriding federal law, including the voting rights act, than ever. You think they really care that you are focusing on rape and incest? That is what they want you to do. Meanwhile, when you win the battle about rape and incest, you are losing your constitutionally protected right to choose.
Take a look at the war on drugs. 4/5 of the budget is spent on marijuana. Privatized prisons, built for profit are filled to the brim with people who have done nothing more than buy, smoke, or sell a little pot. We now incarcerate more people in this country per capita than any country on earth. When corporations spend millions building prisons as an investment,, do you really think they are hoping that drug use stops? That is as logical as spending billions building McDonald’s restaurants, and telling voters you are waging a war on people who eat hamburgers, and you pledge to rid this country of hamburger eaters. Wake up people….they’re crazy, and they are money motivated, and if you keep reacting to the moves they make, you are playing the game their way…..and so far, while you think you are winning, they are actually kicking your ass.
Come on now, those that buy pot or sell a little pot or smoke some pot are not locked up in these prisons. They are put on probation and sent back to the population.
Either you are being satirical or you haven’t heard of manditory minimum sentencing. The government HATES competition and believes in Disproportionate Response.
I just wanted to say, you need to be careful yourself about the definition of rape. A man walking up in a bar, getting a no for sex and doing it anyway is quite obviously rape. Rape by a husband when she says no is also rape. As is sex if she is unable to consent (for example drunk).
I don’t want to take away from your point, what he said is is an absolutely idiotic thing to say. You just don’t want to imply things are much simpler when they actually aren’t.
You’re missing the point.
It does not matter why a woman wants to have an abortion, rape, incest, already has kids, doesn’t want kids, doesn’t want to be pregnant, all are valid reasons because IT’S NO ONE ELSE’S BUSINESS. It doesn’t matter why a woman wants to do something with her own body because it’s HER OWN BODY.
On that point there is no possible exception.
Beth,
As stupid as his comment was, don’t you think it’s a little silly to take a quote from MARCH and then say,
“In the wake of Todd Akin’s moronic and ignorant comments about “legitimate rape,” you would think the Republican Party would have the good sense to just shut the hell up about rape in general.”
Well, I would hope that you read my update at the end of the post. In addition, the comment from Winder could have easily been taken from this post from Jezebel — http://jezebel.com/5936160/the-official-guide-to-legitimate-rape?tag=rape-culture — dated August 20, 2012, which is actually a brilliant round-up of all the stupid, idiotic and ignorant remarks from Republicans the world over regarding rape, including Akin, who voted for an anti-marital rape law for fear that it might be used “in a real messy divorce as a tool and a legal weapon to beat up on the husband.”
Enjoyed the article (and hopefully, a huge defeat for Republicans in November), but I have to ask, Beth:
“…as they stand in judgment of the female race…”
The female RACE? Really?
It’s a figure of speech, c’mon!
Why is it that liberals use the argument “it’s her body” to validate the choice for abortion? Prostitution is illegal. Certain drugs are illegal. Those things involve our bodies, yet the one thing that impacts another life (abortion) is still legal. Trying to argue that a woman should have the right to “choose” is only valid in certain situations like rape. And YES – all women aren’t perfect, innocent, and truthful. There are crazies who lie about rape, who want attention, or who want to get back at a boyfriend…. We all just tiptoe around the issue because we are too scared and to afraid of offending people. Taking an extremist stance defies common sense. ALL women shouldn’t have the right to choose.
Gee April,what do you suggest then,that some Women are MORE equal than others?Or maybe,we should just decide which one of those”Easy Women”who were”asking for it” should have a New Citizen Status,say maybe.let them count for 3/5ths of a Person maybe?Yeah,THAT ought to do it!That ought to work out just SWELL..Oh,wait,we TRIED that kind of thinking already about Human Beings who were seen as”Inferior”by pasty White, Misogynistic ,Bigoted Males with a God Complex.How well did that whole Jim Crow work out HMM?
Just WHO do you think YOU are to impose YOUR way of beliefs,or YOUR way of Religion upon the rest of us in a Situation you OBVIOUSLY know NOTHING about?It’s bad enough Women have to deal with such 2nd Class Citizen thinking from Men,who think we aren’t”responsible Enough” to make our OWN decisions about what is right for US,but a WOMAN?GOOD GRIEF!The Truth is Men like this see Abortion as an affront to their precious widdle Egos,because in THEIR minds,what Women WOULDN’T want to carry their Offspring?But You,a WOMAN?Get your head OUT of your supposedly Moral Superiority&STAY OUT OF OUR BODIES&LIVES!Don’t like Abortion?THEN DON’T GET ONE,but DO NOT try&pretend you’re on some Higher Moral Ground than a Woman who has been forcibly Raped,or beaten by an abusive Husband who will KILL HER if he finds out she’s Pregnant,or her Birth Control Failed,or The Condom Broke&she became Pregnant as a result!It is PRECISELY because of such Souless,morally Bankrupt, Power Hungry Religious Ideology like yours,that I had to be humiliated in Open Court to BEG for an Abortion,because THEY in their Christo-Fascist Myopia,they demanded that I quit being a Godless Heathen,who was rejecting such a “Gift”God gave me after I was Raped.Do you KNOW what kind of cruel&unusual Punishment THAT is?What utter TORTURE that is?DO YOU REALLY?Because if you don’t&you’ve never been there,then BE QUIET,YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONTROL OUR LIVES PERIOD!Please, do us ALL a favor&go play in Traffic,The karma Bus Needs a New target&you are WAY overdue,you sick,vile Vermin!SMDH.
The GOP is so out of touch. I hope they get crushed in November.
If the issue is that you can only get an abortion in the case of rape or incest, it should be a perfectly legitimate question as to whether the pregnancy that is going to be aborted is actually the result of a rape or having sex with a husband the day before.
I don’t think this guy is anyone I would want to represent me and I certainly don’t side with pro-life demagoguery. However, I do have a very low tolerance for the kind of baseless conclusions this author makes. Furthermore, calling him a “thick headed buffoon” is childish and lacks tact. I know this is the internet but please have some self respect, and respect for your profession.
Okay, up front I’m going to state I am pro-choice. But after reading some of the arguments on here I am just wondering if there are holes in my medical knowledge.
IF one believes that abortion should be allowed only in cases of rape or incest, and IF a woman is raped during the same menstrual month that she also has consensual sex – with the same person or not – then I would like the answer to this question:
How does one tell who is the father at the beginning of pregnancy (i.e., when an abortion is usually being considered)? Your doctor can prove you’re pregnant and can even tell you how many days you are pregnant; however that “how many days” is calculated from the date of your last period, not from the date of conception – which, to my knowledge, cannot be proven absolutely by any medical test. Oh, you can estimate when you were most fertile and ultrasounds can estimate how many weeks you are pregnant, but this still does not absolutely determine exactly which sexual encounter caused the conception.
So even IF a woman’s decision to have an abortion rested upon who the father is and whether sex with that male was consensual, HOW does one determine absolutely who is the father?
From what I was able to find, a DNA test could be performed by Chorionic Villus Sampling between 8 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. How dangerous this is I am not sure, but then you’re requiring yet another invasive procedure on a traumatized woman.
Barring that, a DNA test could be performed after an amniocentesis, but this is performed in the later stages of pregnancy and definitely carries risk to the child. Again, requiring an invasive procedure for an already traumatized woman and this might even induce miscarriage by the very test that proves the child might NOT be the rapist’s!
Now that pregnancy tests can give a positive result just a few days after conception, even waiting the weeks until the CVS can be done would just increase the trauma of a woman who has already endured rape.
I wonder, when men are anally raped, do they have to go through even the trauma of a rape kit – not being allowed to go to the bathroom until a doctor can gather the evidence that might include the semen of their rapist? When all you want to do is get in the shower and scrub your skin off to remove the touch – physical and psychological – of your rapist but have to wait in a hospital freezing your butt off until the rape kit is completed is traumatic enough. Now some lawmaker want to tell us to wait weeks or even months until the ID of the father can be determined? And of course the majority of these lawmaker are men, who would never have to endure what they are discussing so “expertly.” One wonders why nobody ever had the bright idea to consult WRAP about how these issues affect real women before they make up their minds about what is legal for a rape victim to endure.
And how many times is a woman going to tell her doctor that she has NOT had sex with anyone but her rapist since her last period – and how many times will her doctor question her honesty and whether she is just claiming that in order to get her abortion, the sneaky bitch?
No matter how a pregnancy began, abortion is never an easy decision, no woman is flippant about making it, no woman goes through the procedure without it affecting her for the rest of her life. WE’RE NOT THOUGHTLESS OR STUPID. And if you are seeing a competent healthcare professional, the realities and possible consequences of abortion – physical and emotional – are explained to you. It is no 5 second decision. Hey Lawmakers: Stop making a hard decision harder!
How many invasive procedures are we going to force on women (raped or not) who have already gone through emotional hell in making the decision to have an abortion in the first place? An abortion which was declared legal by SCOTUS decades ago without caveats?
Please consider voting third party. Seems to me that any vote not cast for a third party is a “wasted” vote especially in the House and Senate seats. Even considering the Electoral College, I cannot think of a better way to cast my vote. I hope many of my fellow Americans will do so as well. I just cannot in good conscience give my approval to either a Democrat or a Republican. Neither party, in my opinion, represents or has the best interests of the American people at its core. We will end up with a “D” or an “R” at the end of this election no matter what happens. Maybe if enough people avoid the two party system a debate directed towards changes in that system might occur? Many people have told me that voting third-party is like giving your vote to ‘insert candidate here’. While ultimately that may be true, how do I justify to myself lending my support to a party I do not believe in? The lesser of two evils is still evil.
I loved the article but detest the slander. I realize that politics and name calling go hand-in-hand but wish it did not have to be so. Sigh.
Given the recent changes in the definition of rape, I’d have to agree; except no one knows what it is, legally.
Yeah, but Biden said something about chains last week, so both sides are JUST AS BAD.
Actually, Joe Biden’s reference to chains was that the Republicans would like to put chains on all of us.
I love your way with words! Nevermind when he said what he said..the fact that he said what he said, thinks how he thinks is reason enough to go after him and his ilk!!
Condolane: Sorry that you took offense to my term ‘pasty-faced fools’, but I would ask you to take a look at those in Congress and tell me how that description doesnt’ fit. Well, maybe with one exception–the orange one!
Thanks to all the males that offered their support and recognition of this attack on womens’ rights. We know you are out there and appreciate your support!
Must have failed anatomy big time!
Seriously confused about where “face/mouth” is vs. “rectum.”