The conversation Akin provoked
It's hard to imagine a more efficient way to rack up diverse denunciations than Rep. Todd Akin's approach in an interview on Sunday, when in one breath he both promoted a foul bit of junk science alleging that rape victims don't generally get pregnant (and thus don't need abortion services) and coined the term "legitimate rape." Pretty much everyone everywhere has condemned his comments, and rightly so.
A number of rape victims have written responses, including Shauna Prewitt, whose post at xoJane went viral and taught a lot of us something appalling that we didn't know: when a rape victim gets pregnant and chooses to carry to term and keep the baby, in many states there is little to prevent her attacker from asserting parental rights.
Within the Republican party, Akin—who is challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill for her seat—has swiftly become persona non grata. The party's leadership wants someone else on the ballot in November, and it wants to make sure everyone understands that the GOP generally doesn't share Akin's views on rape or abortion. Even Congressman Ryan has condemned Akin's statement—though when Akin said "legitimate rape" he was grasping for the phrase "forcible rape," the phrase he, Ryan and others used in legislation they cosponsored.
