Eugene Robinson: Blaming the victim, again
At least until Election Day, Republicans were supposed to pretend that their party's alleged "war on women" was nothing but a paranoid fantasy stoked by desperate Democrats. Obviously, Rep. Todd Akin didn't get the memo.
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Let's begin with the ignorant and offensive distinction Akin tries to draw between "legitimate rape" and some other kind of rape. He did not elaborate, but I'm pretty sure I know what he means.
He's obviously talking about what Republicans call "forcible rape." Last year, Akin co-sponsored a bill in the House that would have narrowed the exception that allows Medicaid funds to pay for abortions for women who are raped. The proposed measure would have permitted the use of funds only to end pregnancies resulting from "forcible rape." GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was another co-sponsor of the measure, which ultimately failed.
The statutory rape of a child by an adult would not fit the definition the House Republicans tried to impose; nor would the rape of a woman who was drugged, say, or who had limited mental capacity. Never mind the fact that as far as criminal law is concerned, rape is rape. Never mind the fact that all rape, by its very nature, is "forcible."
more: http://www.indystar.com/article/20120820/OPINION12/208210308/Eugene-Robinson-Blaming-victim-again
Eugene!