Republican senatorial candidate Todd Akin has already apologized for his astonishing statement yesterday that, according to doctors he’d spoken to, pregnancy from “real” rape is very rare. “If it’s a legitimate rape,” he asserted, “the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.” (The flip side of that message, of course, being that all you girls out there who secretly wanted it are shit out of luck.)
Mother Jones has an interesting post today about how, amazingly, this argument has actually been floating around the far right for a while now: the premise is that the body goes into a kind of shock that makes conception impossible. Anti-abortion doctor Todd C. Wilke wrote about it on the website Christian Life Resources (which, worryingly, is aimed at reaching troubled teens). And Republican senate candidate Fay Boozman was quoted as referring to this purported magical bodily function as “God’s little protective shield in 1998″
Which makes it sound almost cute! And indeed, it would all be a whole lot easier to laugh at if our reproductive rights weren’t slowly being chipped away at: in Mississippi, pro-choice advocates are fighting tooth and nail to keep abortions accessible. A new South Dakota law requires doctors to tell women seeking abortions that those who have the procedure run an increased risk of suicide. Things aren’t looking so good in Arizona, either.
I know I’ve been banging the drum a whole lot here about Pussy Riot—and I do think their story is meaningful and inspiring and infuriating. I’m inspired by the degree to which it’s galvanized women toward a common cause. But I’ve got to say that—while I don’t feel like we necessarily must direct our gaze completely away from them—it’s time to direct some of our outrage and motivation to what’s going on in our own backyard before things get even scarier .
Our words and outrage great for venting, but money the only thing that speaks these days. i’m going to donate to Sen. McCasskill, $50, better than no bucks. http://clairemccaskill.com/
That is what I did, we need to support an alternative candidate.
In 2012, this still has to be a “feminist” issue rather than one of human rights.
Depressing as hell.
Amen. How this isn’t a huge issue among all women is a mystery to me.
Great post, Kim. Thank you!
I kind of agree with Raina, too. Certainly there are folks who would identify any issue framed as ‘feminist’ as an issue that only female people do or should care about, and that’s not the case. Personally, I think of any ‘feminist’ issue and feminism in general as a shorthand for gender equality of all kinds, but specially through the historical lens of particular injustices that women have (and still are) subject to. So, sure, this is a human rights issue; but it is an issue that disproportionately impacts female people…and, so, I think referring to it as ‘feminist’ makes sense. Although, come to think of it, it seems like Kim is saying her ‘rant’ is feminist, not this issue itself.
Anyway, thanks again Kim for posting. This is such a terrible thing.
Bravo.
Right on. I recently read about Melinda Gate’s decision to help provide family planning/birth control to women in poor and non-industrialized countries, despite the fact she is Catholic (which she says does not support birth control) and she struggled to reconcile those two ideas. I absolutely support this and admire her. And I hope Ms. Gates also looks to her own country and realizes that the issues she is hoping to fight in these countries (one being lack of self-determination for a woman) is also being played out here.
I remember reading The Handmaid’s Tale ages ago and thinking that as absurd as this futurist nightmare of a story was, it could happen. Now, it seems we are getting closer to it with every election cycle.
Amen. But I don’t think you need to qualify it with ‘Feminist’ I think all women should be outraged that our basic rights are being attacked so ferociously. After I read about his statements yesterday I immediately donated to his opponents campaign. This man should not be allowed to speak for anybody but himself.
This would be laughable if it wasn’t so freaking scary. Time for me to donate again to Planned Parenthood.
Thank you for this feminist rant, and by all means please keep ranting. Some days I fear that girls who are ‘not of a certain age’ have become apolitical / fallen asleep thinking that the war on equal rights and womens issues has been ‘taken care of’. It is refreshing to see the gutsy use the term ‘feminist’ for issues that strike out at women and contrive to put society back 60 years.
I plan to forward this link to all of the younger women in my circle. Agree that there is a sense of entitlement in the younger ranks.
Kim thank you for ranting.
Margie, maybe this is the case among some young women, but certainly not all. My friends and I are all in our 20′s and are very, very supportive of reproductive rights and feminism in general. We volunteer for abortion fund hotlines, donate to planned parenthood, follow EMILY’s list, and vote! I find it depressing when ‘older’ women (not that you all are old, heh, I just mean, of my mother and or grandmother’s generation, I suppose) lament the lack of passion for these issues among young women. I want to jump up and say, ‘no, look, we’re here! I’m here!’
I started reading a great website called The F Bomb ( http://champagneandheels.com/mediapublishing/the-f-bomb/) a while ago, written by a young girl in her twenties. It was awesome to find that it is not just us girls of a certain age still thinking about all of these issues but that there are definitely gals in their 20′s who are aware, awake and still carry the torch. Perhaps Akin’s comments will further awaken women of all ages, even if it’s just from sheer anger at the stupidity and insanity of his remarks… Especially since he on the Science Committee. Insanity at it’s height.
Thanks for the feminist rant. This man is on the House SCIENCE Committee!!!
Grateful for this post–please keep it up, we like it here because you don’t try to make everything fit–and inspired by Rosemary and Carrie for their action. Living outside of the States, I have a hard time actually taking in that such statements are possible. I miss my old USA.
Was scared by all this “chit chat” before but this is getting to be outrageous now. As a mother of young twin girls – I am very concerned.
Thanks for your rant!!
This is not just a feminist issue, it is a human issue. Where are the men who find this appalling?
Rant on…
Thank you for this rant. Perhaps we all need to rant, loudly, and not stop. Outrageous that it has come to this.
Thank you for posting this. I hope everyone who agrees with this spends as much as a new pair of shoes to help elect Clare McCaskill — and any of the other women out there fighting for the rest of us. I am a passionate supporter of EMILY’s List (network for pro-choice women Democrats) and encourage you to look at their list of endorsed candidates — including Sen. McCaskill — and support as many as you can. emilylist.org I’m going there now to make another contribution to our future … sorry Barney’s, but not this week.
My mother was raped in the 70′s (back when very few women were raped because they’d all really been ‘asking for it’) and my older sister was born four days before my mom turned eighteen. Fuck Todd Akin, not just for being a fool, but for also making countless women relive the pain and shame that comes along with enduring such a horrible crime.
If I were making any money at all right now, I would donate. Since I cannot, however, I share and sign petitions. Normally on social sites I don’t share anything connected to politics, but this was so egregious that I had to share the article from EMILY’S list. Even my few conservative friends were appalled, and I was glad to see one of my friend’s daughters (in her early 20′s) share the story and express what an idiot she thought he was.
After reading your post, Kim, I think I need to do a little more reading on the laws that should be no-brainers in 2012.
What Todd Akin said is completely ridiculous. But, if this is a human rights issue, what about the millions of children being aborted? Where are their rights? I firmly agree with making birth control accessible to woman, but as far as abortion goes…I find it very inhuman. We can sit here and talk about woman’s rights all day long, but what about the fact that baby girls are being aborted based on the fact they are a GIRL.
Send money to Mccasskill. Every little bit counts