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There are some who think that abortion is punishing the innocent unborn, when the real punishment should be left for the rapist.

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During that campaign, Ryan also expressed his willingness to let states criminally prosecute women who have abortions. He “would let states decide what criminal penalties would be attached to abortions. Ryan said he has never specifically advocated jailing women who have abortions or doctors who perform them, but added, ‘If it’s illegal, it’s illegal.’”

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You want to punish the woman ? I hear that's what they do in Muslim countries.

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(B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood

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Ryan and Akin’s personhood bill would treat killing a fertilized egg as the same thing as homicide. Such an interpretation would not simply ban abortion, it could turn many forms of birth control into the legal equivalent of a murder weapon. Many forms of contraception, including many birth control pills, function in part by inhibiting a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman’s uterus. Thus, Ryan and Akin’s personhood bill could render the act of using many forms of oral contraception the equivalent of a homicide crime.

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The real issue was the absurdness of Akin's remarks, about 'legitimate' rape, and the idea that women's bodies will 'shut down' most pregnancies resulting from rape.

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Representative Todd Akin’s assertion that women who are victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant provoked outrage across the political spectrum, but the views he articulated are far from new in anti-abortion circles.

Dr. John C. Willke, a general practitioner with obstetric training and a former president of the National Right to Life Committee, was an early proponent of this view, articulating it in a book originally published in 1985 and again in a 1999 article. He reiterated it in an interview Monday.

“This is a traumatic thing — she’s, shall we say, she’s uptight,” Dr. Willke said of a woman being raped, adding, “She is frightened, tight, and so on. And sperm, if deposited in her vagina, are less likely to be able to fertilize. The tubes are spastic.”

(It goes on to debunk that, citing real doctors)




He read from Dr. Willke’s 1999 article, which described what is “certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that’s physical trauma.”

He continued with the article: “To get and stay pregnant a woman’s body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain that is easily influenced by emotions. There’s no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy.”

Mr. Fischer concluded: “In other words, ladies and gentleman, Todd Akin was exactly right.”

Dr. Willke, 87, asserted yesterday that “way under 1 percent” of rape victims become pregnant, not just because of female biology but because about half of rapists “do not deposit sperm in the vagina.” That, Dr. Willke said, is because many rapists have “a preference for rectal intercourse over vaginal”; experience “premature ejaculation, which is a major factor”; or “some of these guys just plain aren’t fertile.”

But several experts said there is no solid data supporting such contentions. A 1996 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, generally considered one of the few peer-reviewed research efforts on this subject, estimated that 5 percent of rapes result in pregnancy.

“Yeah, there are all sorts of hormones, including ones that cause your heart to beat fast when you’re frightened,” said Dr. Greene. But he added, “I’m not aware of any data that says that reduces a woman’s risk of getting pregnant.”

As for the contention that a rape victim’s fallopian tubes tighten, Dr. Grimes, formerly of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “That’s nonsense. Everything is working. The tube is very small anyway and sperm are very tiny — they’re excellent swimmers.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/us/politics/rape-assertions-are-dism
issed-by-health-experts.html#h ARE PEOPLE WHO ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE THIS--It's not just "one nutcase".

Wilke has written extensively on his beliefs about abortion, and is cited by pro-lifers frequently.

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Dr. John Willke, a self-described “founding father” of the pro-life movement, is popping up in the news this week, credited with a dubious honor—helping to inspire Rep. Todd Akin’s controversial views on rape.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Dr. Willke said he believes Akin simply made “a slip of the tongue.”

Dr. Willke, the president of a pro-life group, the Life Issues Institute, and also a physician, has been active in the movement for decades. In the 1970s, he wrote a book called Handbook on Abortion, which he updated and republished in seven editions over the years. In 1984, he helped found the International Right to Life Federation, a group that connects global pro-life groups. And in 1999, he wrote an essay saying that pregnancy from rape is rare. That’s the piece getting cited in the media now.

In that essay, Willke argued that factors such as physical trauma, stress, infertility, and birth control make it highly unlikely for women to get pregnant from rape. “There’s no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape,” he said. “This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation, and even nurturing of a pregnancy.”

He offered up a complex mathematical calculation in the essay on how he arrived at his theory that pregnancy from rape is extremely rare. He also drew a distinction between “forcible rape,” statutory rape, and date rape. He said date rape counted as “forcible rape,” but that statutory rape was in a different category, as it could be consensual.

He continues to hold these views today. “The whole business of fertilization with a woman’s body is a delicate mechanism,” he told The Daily Beast. “A lot of things contribute to it.”

Lynn Paltrow, the executive director of the advocacy group National Advocates for Pregnant Women, dismisses Dr. Willke’s claims as “junk science” in the “abortion re-criminalization movement.” She said such remarks from both Dr. Willke and Akin “reflect what’s really going on—such profound disrespect for women and pregnant women. These comments get enormous coverage in the media and get treated as if they’re serious.” She added, “Women’s bodies are set up to reproduce. It doesn’t really matter what their head wants.”

Dr. Willke said he thinks it would be “absolute absurdity” for Akin to quit the race over the rape flap. “We’re in a political campaign season, and if you’re a Democrat, you’re gonna take advantage of this,” he said. He added that Akin “made one big mistake—a factual error. That’s what blew this up. He said if it’s a ‘legitimate’ rape. That’s a contradiction. There’s actual rape and there’s attempted rape. Nothing’s legitimate about it.” He believes Akin meant to say “forcible rape.”

Dr. Willke, who also served as president of the National Right to Life Committee for 10 years, said he expects to see abortion outlawed in his lifetime. “I’m getting pretty old. I’m in my late 80s, but I think I will live to see abortion end,” he said. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/21/todd-akin-finds-a-fri
end-in-john-willke-a-pro-life-founding-father.html guess that answers our question on what's "legitimate" rape: "forceable rape". I hope this bastard DOESN'T see abortion made legal before he dies; in fact I hope it goes the other way. NOTHING will "end" abortion, it's been around since time began; all they will do is force it underground and women will die.

By the way, efforts by anyone to separate Ryan or Romney from this debate aren't viable:

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Mitt Romney met John Willke, the doctor credited with popularising Todd Akin’s controversial views on rape and abortion, during the current election campaign and told him they agreed on “almost everything,” Dr Willke said.

The 87-year-old endorsed Mr Romney’s bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination and was one of his official campaign surrogates. ”I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement,” Mr Romney said at the time.

Mr Romney and Paul Ryan, his running mate, have denounced Mr Akin's remarks. Dr Willke has been given no role in Mr Romney’s 2012 campaign and aides stress that the candidate disagrees with his theory on rape.

However, Dr Willke told The Daily Telegraph that he did meet Mr Romney during a presidential primary campaign stop in the doctor's home city of Cincinnati, Ohio, in October last year. Local news reports at the time noted that the candidate held “private meetings” during the visit.

“He told me ‘thank you for your support – we agree on almost everything, and if I am elected President I will make some major pro-life pronouncements’,” Dr Willke said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
Dr Willke, a political ally of Mr Akin's who put forward the theory in a 1985 book, claimed this week that when a woman is raped her "tubes are spastic", preventing conception. Mainstream scientific literature rejects the theory. Studies show rapes result in tens of thousands of US pregancies per year.

The doctor said that he had also met Mr Ryan, who sits in Congress for the Wisconsin district in which one of his sons lives, several times. He said that after listening to Dr Willke’s views on abortion during their last encounter, Mr Ryan replied: “That’s where I’m at”.

Dr Willke praised Mr Ryan as “a very obedient Catholic”, who would make a “great Vice President”. He contrased the Republican congressman with Joe Biden, the current Vice President, “who claims to be Catholic but doesn’t sound like one and doesn’t act like one”.

A spokesman for Mr Ryan did not return a request for comment. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9493653/US-elect
ion-Mitt-Romney-met-Todd-Akin-doctor-John-Willke-during-2012-campaign.html

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So never kid yourselves; Akin and this man are definitely connected to the Romney/Ryan campaign and have been for a long time. IT'S NOT JUST ONE NUT JOB SAYING SOMETHING STUPID, got it?

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Even as the official Republican Party continues to try to derail Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin over his remarks about “legitimate rape,” a powerful force within the GOP has begun rallying to the candidate’s side: the party’s socially conservative base.

Powerful Christian activists in the GOP have begun pushing back against party leadership, alleging it has gone too far in trying to thwart Akin and that it is attempting to sideline issues that social conservatives care about, such as abortion.

The criticism is creating major tensions between the mainstream Republican Party and a key part of its base days before the GOP’s convention is set to open in Tampa, Florida.

“Following the pounding of Todd Akin by the GOP kings and lieutenants in the last 36 hours, I've come to the conclusion that the real issue is the soul of America,” wrote David Lane, an evangelical activist who’s influential in the Republican Party, in an e-mail to fellow activists Thursday morning.

Akin has bowed to Republican pressure to skip the Republican convention next week. But the Senate candidate was in Tampa on Wednesday night to meet with a powerful group of religious conservatives, according to a source familiar with the trip.

In a note to supporters Wednesday night, conservative Family Research Council President Tony Perkins heaped criticism on the GOP for abandoning Akin.

"Todd Akin has a long and distinguished record of defending women, children, and families – and unlike the GOP establishment, I refuse to throw him under the bus over one inarticulate comment for which he has apologized,” wrote Perkins, who is in Tampa attending events leading up the convention.

“As for the GOP, it has no rational basis for deserting Akin when it has stood by moderate Republicans who've done worse,” Perkins continued. “Singling out Todd suggests a double standard, designed to drive out social conservatives.”

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