Rape Culture and the Religious Right

I'm so tired of people, mostly right wing middle aged men, trying to find the "positive" side of rape so they can advance their anti-abortion laws. Rape is a brutal, violent, traumatic crime that can leave victims with lifelong problems. There is no "positive" side.

In 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana thought that “...even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”

I'm pretty sure no one's God would wish that on someone.

Or how about the Former Representative  Todd Akin stating that  "...if a woman experienced a “legitimate rape” she wouldn’t get pregnant because “the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”

Hmmmm, what exactly is a legitimate rape? Are there different levels? This one is implausible, this one absolutely fake, this one is invalid...Really? 

Washington Congressional candidate John Koster noted on what he called the "rape thing," "...how does putting more violence onto a woman's body and taking the life of an innocent child that's a consequence of this crime, how does it make it better?"

First, "rape thing" sounds like he doesn't even believe the crime exists. Secondly...how does it make it better? I don't know, how about ridding yourself of the reminder of being brutally violated instead of carrying it around every day for the next nine months? I think that makes it better.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

And we all know good old Mike Huckabee, right? Well, "Ethel Waters (who is a singer by the way), for example, is the result of forcible rape."

Wow. Okay, firsts off, like "legitimate rape" is there any other kind of rape than "forcible?"  Of course, that doesn't matter because you've sold me. I won't abort my rape baby because it could become famous! (I have no idea who Ethel Waters is).

Representative hopeful Tom Smith compared having a rape baby to having a baby out of wedlock because, "Yes, it is similar."

O.o

And oh, good lord, is this a good one. "The facts show that people who are raped - who are truly raped (againt, "truly" raped. WTF?) - the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work, and they don't get pregnant." - former Representative Henry Aldridge.

I would like to see these "facts." Were they published in a medical journal? Complete bullshit.

"As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lay back and enjoy it." Another former Representative contender, Clayton Williams, comparing rape to the weather.

Let's see if you would be able to "lay back" or in your case "bend over" and enjoy it if it were you.

And just recently, "Obviously rape is awful. What is beautiful is the child is that could come from this." Delegate Brian Kurcaba.

There are SO MANY MORE! Some from women. This disgusts me. The ignorance these politicians display is truly sickening. Here is a site that has some posted.

I'm so happy that many of these people are no longer in Congress or lost their bids. These are not the people that should represent us, especially women.

There is nothing "beautiful" about rape. Not even a baby conceived as the result. It's violent. It's traumatic. It's an invasion, an assault, a desecration of the female body.  Forcing a woman to carry the reminder around for nine months would be agonizing, tortuous, and morbid.  There would be mental and emotional consequences for the rape victim, again, probably life long.

What if the victim is a child herself? 17, 15, 13? You want a child having to bear that responsibility? What if it were your daughter? Or, what about a baby conceived as a result of incest? What then? Should we just expand the family tree?

These politicians have no way of stepping into the victims shoes to see the damage a forcible pregnancy would cause. So why should they have the right to determine what choices we make with regard to the fetus? 

I'm not for or against abortion, I'm pro-choice. I think abortion should be available for those who choose that option.  You could be a child, impoverished, too old, your health is at risk, a victim of rape or incest - the reason shouldn't matter. I will say that I do not think it's a good alternate to birth control. If you're having sex, you should be protecting yourself. But the fact is that people don't, and who am I to tell them what they can and cannot do with their bodies. 

If I was a rape victim, I would more than likely choose abortion. I have enough problems, mentally, financially, physically...I don't need to add another to my plate. You may not agree with my opinion, but I expect you to recognize that it is mine. I own it.

My life. My body. My choice.