Looking across the Pond it seems that some right wing politicians in America have a lot in common with those in the UK. They all seem well capable of putting their foot where their mouths should be and causing offence. So who is it this time?
Missouri Republican Todd Akin is the culprit. Classed by most as far-right he is an experienced politician and so naivity cannot be his excuse. The six-term congressman is running against incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill, in the US 2012 Election.
Interviewers do sometimes run rings around politicians of any leaning but there are some gaffes which show voters just what said politicians believe. In an interview Todd was asked if "there were any circumstances in which he would support a woman's decision to have an abortion." A reasonable question to put to an anti-abortionist who sees the World in black and white,whereas we all know it is many shades of grey, and we are not referring to the sex book.
His answer? Well it seems that he believes it is "really rare" for a woman who is raped to get pregnant. How come, I hear you ask? Well according to Todd "It seems to me first of all from what I understand from doctors that's really rare. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Does this mean then that if a woman who is raped gets pregnant it was not rape or that she enjoyed the experience? 65-year-old Todd seems to be saying that.
In much the same words as Rick Santorum used during his efforts to be elected as the GOP nominee Mr Akin went on to say that IF the birth of a child follows a rape he would prefer "the rapist was attacked and not the child".
The GOP dream team of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were quick to distance themselves from Akin's words. A spokesperson soon claimed that both Romney and Ryan would not be against abortion in rape cases.
Akin retracted his words, in a way. We have no idea which words he realised after the event were inappropriate, to say the least. He said "In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year." He did not give details.
Opinion: Too little, too late Mr Akin. There are many justified reasons, including rape, why an abortion could be right for a woman. Why a 65-year-old politician should think he has the right to decide which are justified and which are not is beyond us.
Missouri Republican Todd Akin is the culprit. Classed by most as far-right he is an experienced politician and so naivity cannot be his excuse. The six-term congressman is running against incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill, in the US 2012 Election.
Interviewers do sometimes run rings around politicians of any leaning but there are some gaffes which show voters just what said politicians believe. In an interview Todd was asked if "there were any circumstances in which he would support a woman's decision to have an abortion." A reasonable question to put to an anti-abortionist who sees the World in black and white,whereas we all know it is many shades of grey, and we are not referring to the sex book.
His answer? Well it seems that he believes it is "really rare" for a woman who is raped to get pregnant. How come, I hear you ask? Well according to Todd "It seems to me first of all from what I understand from doctors that's really rare. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Does this mean then that if a woman who is raped gets pregnant it was not rape or that she enjoyed the experience? 65-year-old Todd seems to be saying that.
In much the same words as Rick Santorum used during his efforts to be elected as the GOP nominee Mr Akin went on to say that IF the birth of a child follows a rape he would prefer "the rapist was attacked and not the child".
The GOP dream team of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were quick to distance themselves from Akin's words. A spokesperson soon claimed that both Romney and Ryan would not be against abortion in rape cases.
Akin retracted his words, in a way. We have no idea which words he realised after the event were inappropriate, to say the least. He said "In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year." He did not give details.
Opinion: Too little, too late Mr Akin. There are many justified reasons, including rape, why an abortion could be right for a woman. Why a 65-year-old politician should think he has the right to decide which are justified and which are not is beyond us.
RSS Feed