Over My Dead Body, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

August 25, 2012 Martha Thomases 8 Comments

Lucky for you folks, Congressman Todd Akin made his ridiculous statements after my deadline last week, so I’ve had a chance to calm down. In case you missed it (and if so, how did you do it, and can I hide there, too?), here is what he said, quoted from The New York Times:

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

There are, as you might imagine, so many unbelievable aspects to this statement. I don’t know which one to react to first. Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.

“The punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

It’s interesting that, when considering the crime of rape, Akin considers only the rapist — the criminal — and the evidence — the child. At no time does he consider the victim, the woman who was raped. I guess that’s because the rapist is most likely male, and there is at least a 50% chance that the fetus will also be male. The victim is just a girl.

Not even a real human.

Do you think that last statement is harsh? Do you think I’m ascribing beliefs to which the Congressman that he doesn’t hold? Maybe, but let’s consider this: “the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”

He talks about a woman’s body as if it is something strange, something that is not, well, human. Something that can tell a friendly sperm from a hostile sperm. A cervix with a velvet rope, letting in only those who are on the list.

The human body is capable of all kinds of involuntary defensive responses. When one is really frightened, one’s bowels can empty, so one can run faster. One will vomit when one has eaten bad food, to get the badness out. Cold makes nipples more perky. These are things that both men and women do.

Men have reflexes that women don’t. As we learned on Seinfeld, cold water can cause shrinkage.

Does Akin know any actual women? Does he know any actual doctors?

Maybe he does. As this article observes, the modern Republican party has very little use for science. They seem to see provable facts (climate change, evolution) as opinions, something that one can accept or not. And, on a personal level, they can believe whatever they want. However, one can’t legislate science. Something is true or it isn’t. And there are plenty of so-called scientists or doctors who will say what the GOP wants to hear, as long as there is a good paycheck in it.

Of course, the phrase that’s received the most outrage is “legitimate rape.” It is the phrase that even Paul Ryan (who co-sponsored several anti-abortion bills with Akin that use similar language) denounced. It plays to men’s fears that women will cry “Rape” when the sex was consensual. I’m know that there are occasions when this happens.

You know what else happens? People claim that they were robbed when they spent their money on hookers, or gambling. And yet, we don’t talk about “legitimate robbery.” We don’t accuse men in expensive shoes of “asking for it”.

If rape is only something that happens when at gunpoint or knifepoint, a lot of men can get away with it. And a lot of women will suffer for it. The woman menaced by a much stronger man in a bar, or pressured by her boss, or the girl molested by a neighbor, an uncle, a step-father. These women must not only survive the rape itself, but the pregnancy.

(And I don’t want to hear how the fetus is a person because it contains cells that can develop into a human. So can my toe-nail. If you want an analogy, imagine a group of cells replicating in your body against your will, forming a mass that parasitically attacks your blood supply, your muscles and your nervous system. Yeah, a forced pregnancy is a lot like cancer.)

Why does the GOP want to distinguish between “legitimate” (or, sometimes they use the word “forcible”) rape and other kinds? Who are they protecting?

I know that conservatives often claim they represent so-called “Judeo-Christian” values (and you know they just put in the “Judeo” part to keep that Adelson money flowing), but their attitudes toward women are much closer to their fellow fundamentalists in Iran. As you can see here, there are those in Iran who want to preserve Biblical marriage at all costs.

Keep you Bible. I prefer humans.

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Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, actually likes some parts of the Bible. And the Talmud. And The Great Gatsby.  A good read is a good read.