Excerpt: "Arguing that he misplaced the word 'legitimate,' Akin explained - during a follow up interview with Dana Loesch - that he meant to argue that women sometimes lie about being raped."

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Missouri, is continuing with his besieged Senate bid despite his party's request that he abandon it. (photo: AP)

Akin Clarifies 'Legitimate Rape' Comments: Women Make 'False Claims' About Being Raped

By Igor Volsky, ThinkProgress

22 August 12

ep. Todd Akin (R-MO) announced that he will continue with his race for the U.S. Senate, during an appearance on the Mike Huckabee radio show Tuesday afternoon, and clarified his claims that women who face "legitimate rape" cannot become pregnant.

Arguing that he misplaced the word "legitimate," Akin explained - during a follow up interview with Dana Loesch - that he meant to argue that women sometimes lie about being raped:

AKIN: You know, Dr. Willke has just released a statement and part of his letter, I think he just stated it very clearly. He said, of course Akin never used the word legitimate to refer to the rapist, but to false claims like those made in Roe v. Wade and I think that simplifies it….. There isn't any legitimate rapist…. [I was] making the point that there were people who use false claims, like those that basically created Roe v. Wade.

Since he first made the comments over the weekend, Akin claimed that he meant to say "forcible," rather than "legitimate" rape.

And while many Republicans are distancing themselves from the candidate, staunch anti-choice conservatives are backing-up Akin's explanation. Dr. John Willke, who describes himself as the "founding father" of the movement, issued a statement defending Akin and Huckabee approvingly read it during his interview on Tuesday.

Willke "is a leading proponent of the view that women are unlikely to become pregnant by 'forcible rape,' a theory he laid out in a 1999 article on the subject."

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+47 # phrixus 2012-08-22 07:33

I believe this is what is referred to as "circling the wagons." What an incredibly stupid attempt to whitewash some incredibly stupid remarks. But I repeat myself.

+25 # robniel 2012-08-22 11:53

My prevarication meter is once again pegged on this one by Akin and his clones! If Willke really has an M.D. degree the issuing institution must be mortified.

+32 # lincolnimp 2012-08-22 07:41

OMG...this little boy just digs it deeper and deeper.

+70 # jjj 2012-08-22 07:55

Akin is expressing the exact and real views held by the ultraconservati ves, teapartiers and most Republican candidates of this country. They are indeed horrifying but this is what you are voting for if you vote for his party.

+5 # mdhome 2012-08-22 18:59

climate warming deniers, now this, I expect they will next bring out the Holocaust deniers. I have no idea what the next outrageous thing they will dream up next.

+6 # AndreM5 2012-08-22 20:58

There is nothing left to dream up--they have shouted it very clearly for decades:

Obama is a Muslim--I think it's in the Bible.
Obama was born in Kenya--I heard it is definitely in the Bible.
Obama is a socialist--only too obvious since he is a Democrat.
Liberals are devils--moot.
Barack/Michelle Obama are terrorists--the fist-bumps to proved it.
Obama hates America--he's not one of us so this is too easy.
Obama did not attend nor graduate from Harvard--where is the proof other than his diploma, press releases, transcripts, tax records, etc., and who believes those?
R-money and Ryan are god-fearing Christians who hold their Jesus-inspired beliefs sacrosanct and would never waiver in their policies. Well, it's true R-money is a Mormon so maybe I have to wait and see...
We must take the precepts of the Bible literally, except for those that we find inconvenient as defined by that Saint Ralph Reed.
Jesus hates Muslims--it's in the Bible somebody said. Ralph?
Jesus hates homosexuals--it 's in the Bible somewhere but I can't find it.
Jesus hates women--it's in the Bible all over the place.
Slavery is a good Christian practice since it is in the Bible, also all over the place.
Jesus will return to earth and save me if only we can start a war in Jerusalem.

It is a VERY long list and this is only the Cliff Notes version.

+12 # pernsey 2012-08-22 07:58

Oh Please!!! This is what your going to go with Akin...really? Really?

+33 # moonrigger 2012-08-22 08:08

Yeah yeah, we heard his lame excuses this morning when he was interviewed on NBC. If he thinks we are fooled by them, he's sadly mistaken. He told the truth about his real beliefs first time around! Any of the remaining idiots still supporting him ought to soak their heads. On the other hand, just keep on, Mr. Akin! We want you and your ilk to be handed a well-deserved shellacking come November.

+5 # AndreM5 2012-08-22 20:59

These are not just HIS beliefs, they have been embedded in the Repug Party Platform for 10 year. Little Eddie Ryan has swallowed then championed the whole sordid tale.

+38 # MEBrowning 2012-08-22 08:16

I for one have had quite enough of male politicians dictating to us what rape is and isn't, and what effect it has, or doesn't have, on rape victims. Akin, WIllke, Ryan and the rest of you self-righteous nutjobs — Get the hell out of our bodies!

+36 # CAMUS1111 2012-08-22 09:02

"...and the rest of you self-righteous nutjobs"--That includes virtually all of the GOP--our anti-science, fascist party, a party of evil that should be condemned and ridiculed at every turn.

+24 # tedrey 2012-08-22 08:22

Notice that Akin is STILL pushing the idea that if a woman was raped, she won't get pregnant. This is known to be false, and is another vicious excuse for predatory males. "I'm not responsible for the pregnancy. I raped her!"

+4 # RobinMcM 2012-08-22 08:32

I've puzzled for years over the tendency of a certain kind of American man who (a) knows absolutely nothing about female sexuality, reproductive biology, or psychology but (b) pontificates often on these subjects and wants to make laws to control the most intimate aspects of women's lives.

As a result of looking into the beady little eyes of Todd Akin and hearing his moronic remarks in every news outlet for the past few days, I've figured it out. These men must be such abysmally bad lovers that they've never had sex with a woman who was even enjoying it, never mind having orgasms. Since their partners just lie there waiting for it to be over, every sexual encounter must seem a little like rape to these men.

No WONDER they're so calloused about rape. They have no personal experience with a female sexual partner who is enjoying the encounter. They literally don't know what a real woman having a real orgasm looks like! I get it now!

Mystery solved.

+2 # michelle 2012-08-23 07:37

Amen. I have thought this for years. What woman would chance mixing her gene pool with these clowns.

+6 # Barbara K 2012-08-22 08:33

This piece of crap needs to leave our government. This is what is wrong with our government, boot them out.

DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN AT ANY LEVEL, we have states that need cleaning out too.

DO VOTE and vote straight democrat, don't ever sit out an election again and let this happen to us.

+27 # firefly 2012-08-22 08:48

So, instead of trying to tell us that women who are 'really' raped do not get pregnant, he is going to say we are all liars? Way to alienate half the country, man.

+5 # kelly 2012-08-23 05:52

Not really. What is more likely is that he is saying that if a woman gets pregnant it's her fault. Always. Men are never at fault. This is the best way to justify rapes and make abortions completely unnecessary, in their eyes. It is also the best way of insuring Christian Sharia law.

+19 # jmm 2012-08-22 08:55

So, how about this scenerio: Woman is beaten and raped. Gets pregnant as a result. DNA catches the rapist. He says she consented and has the child's DNA collected. It matches. He claims consent and wants to legitimate. Since she is pregnant she must have wanted the sex. He gets off, wants parental rights. Remains in her life and the life of the child if he wants.

+9 # hbheinze 2012-08-22 11:03

Carry it a step farther: Woman is raped & gets pregnant. She has an abortion, & is convicted for murder. It couldn't have been rape, because she got pregnant, therefore the rapist goes free. That's the end-result of this horrific craziness.

+1 # mdhome 2012-08-22 19:03

That would be just way too effin horrible, for this I could see justifiable homicide.

+22 # rsnfan 2012-08-22 09:34

I'm guessing but I bet for everyone that lies there are several who don't even report it.
Akin is stupid.
How do politicians, on all levels, get to be so ignorant?
Maybe there is a correlation between getting in office and getting stupid.

+3 # mdhome 2012-08-22 19:04

Ignorant goes with the R party.

+10 # janie1893 2012-08-22 09:38

Both gentlemen are abysmally ignorant. Since they are too old too learn and change, they need to be kept away from women.

-4 # 8myveggies 2012-08-22 14:18

Please, keep your prejudice out of the conversation. Ageists are always claiming that people past a certain age are incapable. No different than sexism or racisim.

+4 # AndreM5 2012-08-22 21:02

You may be right. In this case the offensive male Repugs suffered brain freeze at puberty. That does not excuse them for criminally ignorant behavior.

+9 # MylesJ 2012-08-22 09:56

I don't think his political opinion is hte big problem. Saying that women's bodies know how to prevent pregnancy when raped may be the least intelligent thing I've heard this year.

+21 # ekogaia 2012-08-22 10:27

As an African, living in Africa what this guys says just shows how sick and messed up the thinking of rich white assholes in the USA has got.
Can some of you please sort out the mess you have there America?
I thought Sarah Palin and that Bachman woman were bad but these old white men, they take the cake.

0 # AndreM5 2012-08-22 21:03

It took Akin to make us think--for only a millisecond--th at Palin was smarter.

+7 # nanookune 2012-08-22 10:27

Akin is a product of his family, his education, and his society at the time of his childhood development; he obviously represents a person who has not grown in knowledge and has not evolved much. Are there men (and, sadly, women) who believe as he does? Seriously, what can we do to help extend their stinted knowledge--and don't suggest retroactive birth control!

+3 # mdhome 2012-08-22 19:06

His education? WHAT education?

0 # opinionaire 2012-08-24 05:53

AND the republicans have placed him as a representative/ decision maker on a committee governing SCIENCE. Wow.

+7 # MikeToo 2012-08-22 10:38

With all due respect to "legitimate" bubba's everywhere, this bubba wants so badly to be a part of the Washington scene, and take all the perks that go with it, he will say anything now to cover up his real feelings about women and rape. Whatever it will take to get back to Washington. And the way things are in Missouri these days, he might just do it. With Citizens United, don't be surprised to eventually learn that money was funneled to him even more secretly than already is the norm.

+4 # MendoChuck 2012-08-22 10:53

HEY! , , , , rsnfan, I think you may have hit on it.
Incumbents must be voted out of office BEFORE they turn stupid.
Awesome . . . . .

+4 # RobinMcM 2012-08-23 09:35

Term limits don't help. The system itself needs to change. First, we MUST get the money out of it - public financing of all campaigns. Second, once having been elected to public office, an individual may NEVER work as a lobbyist.

+10 # PABLO DIABLO 2012-08-22 11:34

First rule when you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING. The Republicans are good at putting some dufus out front to take the "heat", but Atkin takes the cake.

+3 # ekogaia 2012-08-22 11:51

And yes Mr Akin, just keep your eyes open because when you roll into Tampa, along with your koch cronies, we are going to send a sign to show you how wrong you all are. God(ess).

+12 # j-allen 2012-08-22 12:15

What I find equally disturbing is that a member of the House Science Committee would make a statement that when a woman is raped, her body somehow "shuts down" the conception process. "Some doctors say." Which doctors? What studies or evidence support this claim? Scary that such a man helps determine our science policies.

+5 # mdhome 2012-08-22 19:08

"Which doctors?" I think you meant ->witch doctors.

+5 # Regina 2012-08-23 06:38

I'm far more disturbed by the fact that this cretin Akin was appointed to the House Science Committee!!! The entrenched ignorance of the Republicans is a national atrocity.

+14 # Susan1989 2012-08-22 12:23

Forget Akin for just a minute. Ryans official stand is that even abortion where the life of the mother is endangered should be banned. Listen up ladies. That means that any woman who gets pregnant--ourse lves ad our daughters--is taking their lives in their hands. If something goes wrong--even an atopic pregnancy...you can end up dead. Along with Ryans intention to make birth control pills and the IUD illegal...that means any woman of child bearing age wil be walking on eggs for a good part od her life--unless she is weathy of course. This is an atrocity...moti vates me to volunteer for Planned Parenthood.

+10 # Sallyport 2012-08-22 12:24

No doubt Willke also knows that a forcible rape victim can't be infected with an STD: that her body will successfully reject any infectious agents!

+7 # tswhiskers 2012-08-22 12:58

The only well-known case of falsified rape was the Tawanna Brawley case in the '80's. I think one could say that false rape claims are about as common as legitimate claims of voter ID fraud. It happens on occasion but given the guilt and shame of the victim and the necessarily invasive process of rape kits, I suspect very few women willingly charge a man with rape. Of course the Reps. seem to have a very 19th-century view of women, so I find it very difficult to trust the word of Reps. on sexual matters.

+13 # Everyone 2012-08-22 13:15

Akin is an example of the evolutionary effect of incest.

Perhaps Akin should spend a few nights at one of Missouri's finest prisons. He might have a better understanding of rape.

+2 # mdhome 2012-08-22 19:10

That gets my vote, and I am sure he will not get pregnant.

+11 # ABen 2012-08-22 14:16

Akin's mistake was to voice an opinion held by far too many Teabaggers and ultraconservati ves. A century of biology research be damned, they prefer some Calvinist myth about how the human female body works. this is willful ignorance on an absolutely staggering level. I wonder how he/they will take the news that the sun and planets don't revolve around the earth?

+6 # MEBrowning 2012-08-22 17:18

Willful ignorance is the central floor joist in this year's Republican platform.

+5 # RMDC 2012-08-23 02:37

One thing is for sure, this guy is a "legitimate" republican. His brain system shuts down when he gets under stress.

+3 # Susan1989 2012-08-23 05:17

Not only are these white male christians probably inhibited lovers....but I think the fire got ignited under them when a Black man and his wife dared to darken the door of the White House. Could it be that they are threatened by his obvious sexuality...a masculinity that the might not view themselves of having. This is probably connected to the abortion issues of late which is really about denying the white woman her sexuality. That is why so many Republicans have blonde gushing wives who seem to not have lives of their own..at least many that I have seen.

0 # vince47 2012-08-23 06:31

The man is incompetent. A real loser. The GOP had best distance themselves from him. But, then are they smart enough.

+1 # She Cee 2012-08-23 11:00

So supposing that is really what he meant, "that some women lie about having been raped".

How can he justify the comment that, " women are unlikely to become pregnant by 'forcible rape,' ?

HE CAN'T

+1 # arlene 2012-08-24 06:44

Everyone is concentrating on whether or not the woman is really raped.

1.How about the absurdity of the comment itself. You can't get pregnant if you're raped. Women around the world are sold to men for life (the brains who translate to English call these sales "marriage", "husbands" "wives") with words that do not describe the same status in all places (why not translate as "slaves"). Well, these women do get pregnant as have women defined as "slaves" always have. Those are all real rapes.

2. What about leaving women out of the equation. According to Akin, the rapist should be punished, the child shouldn't. He forgot there's someone else in that equation. Oh right, she's only a woman; she doesn't matter.

3.Akin and I disagree on whether or not a human fetus is a human being. Many people seem to think it's the size of the sonogram and not some miniscule little thing that most of us would not be able to distinguish from a rat fetus.

4. But even if we agree not to discuss whether the fetus is human, what other situation do we have where one human is required to donate their bodies to keep another human alive? You don't have to donate blood for your own child. Is any man forced to donate a kidney?

This BS is abominanble

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