FU - FairAndUNbalanced.com - Latest comments on Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Ryan [Visitor] — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:50:21 +0000

Emily,

Even manslaughter requires some degree of responsibility on the part of the criminal. For example: a drunk driver who kills a pedestrian may not have intended to do so, but his drunk driving was criminally negligent, so he bears responsibility. In contrast, a woman has no control at all over natural miscarriages or stillbirths, so she cannot be held responsible for them. Just because they take place within her body does not mean that they are her fault.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Emily [Visitor] — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:48:14 +0000

Hi Ryan,

I absolutely agree with your conclusions, but in the mind of a pro-lifer, if a zygote is a life, then logically it follows that a miscarriage or stillbirth can be manslaughter. Otherwise, there seems to be a huge inconsistency. Personally, I think this ridiculous conclusion needs to be brought out, and Akin's comments regarding women's anti-rapebaby juices open the door to it.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Ryan [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:54:39 +0000

Emily,

Here is what I take his argument to be:

If a woman is raped, then she is not likely to become pregnant. If a woman is raped and does somehow become pregnant, then the rapist should still be punished, but the child should be left alone.

He probably felt the need to clarify that the rapist should still be punished if a pregnancy occurs because his previous statement suggested that pregnancy indicates consensual sex. In any case, I chalk this up to poor phrasing rather than an unwillingness to punish rapists equally regardless of pregnancy.

As for the second point, whether or not this mythical anti-rapebaby process kills anything in the first place in a pro-lifer's mind depends on whether it destroys an already fertilized egg or simply prevents fertilization. Whether or not it is murder depends on the woman's conscious control over the process. He did not indicate that women have control over that process, so he is not saying that rape victims murder their own babies.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Emily [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:32:07 +0000

Hi Ryan,

No, I got that. But it seemed to me that he's suggesting that if something didn't work (ie, the mythical anti-rapebaby function of a woman's reproductive system) *then* the rapist should be punished (or punished more). Which strikes me as an additional problem with everything he said.

Another problem with Akin-land logic is that if abortion is murder (I'm firmly in the camp that it's not), then wouldn't the triggering of the mythical anti-rapebaby part of the woman's reproductive system be murder? Is he saying that rape victims murder their own babies?

(Just a final note, I did some googling and found that a woman is actually almost twice a likely to become pregnant from a rape than once instance of consensual sex.)

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Ryan [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:39:38 +0000

Emily,

Akin was under the impression that women have a natural defense against unwanted pregnancy. Most cases in which supposed rape produces a child are therefore cases of consensual sex instead.

(Of course, "misinformed" is the most favorable description of his beliefs. It is also possible that he is willfully ignorant, preferring the familiarity and comfort of his religious beliefs to harsher reality. I do not know which is the case.)

What you quoted is his acknowledgment that there might be some exceptions. Even in those cases, he believes that the child should not be punished for a crime that its father committed. In other words: he is still opposed to abortion because he values the life of the fetus over the benefits of abortion. Whether or not he continues to believe that rape rarely leads to pregnancy because women have a natural defense against it, he will vote against abortion.

The upcoming election, then, still pits a "pro-lifer" against a "pro-choicer." Whether Missouri voters will care more about his ignorance or his position on abortion remains to be seen.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

T. Paine [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:14:57 +0000

Akin asks a fair question. Other than hypothetically giving block grants to state departments of education, what possible value does the federal government add to the education process? The closer the control of education is to the local level the better the needs of our students is met. (Just like with nearly every other government program.)

As for Akin’s comment that women who are raped cannot get pregnant, well that simply is not the case. It was foolish and detrimental to say otherwise. That said, if one believes that abortion is murder, then consistency would dictate that even in the case of a pregnancy to a rape victim, one should not commit the murder of an unborn child via aborting him or her. Mr. Akin is correct in that regard that it does no good to punish the child with its execution simply because the sperm donor took unwanted and forced liberties with the woman. It is the rapist that must be seriously punished; not the innocent child.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Jerry Critter [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:45:47 +0000

Legitimate hunger children will not starve. The body's natural anti-starvation system will take over and they will be fine.

In response to: Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

Emily [Visitor] — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:53:08 +0000

"Let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

I really don't get this. It's like he's saying rapists should only be punished if they impregnate their victim.