That's about as logical as assuming that men don't need to use condoms because they can totally will their sperm to be sterile.

Uhm, no, the human body just doesn't work that way.

Seriously, what is wrong with him?

i got nothing. there are days when the onion can't keep up.

This is your brain on abstinence-only sex education. Any questions?

Akin was 11 points ahead before he said it.

If Missouri elects him they should rename the state Misery.

Akin is such a jerk that I'm adding him to the Jerk Store.

no no no... despite how crude and idiotic what this guy said was, this comes from a couple of sources. Firstly, there were a couple of studies a number of years ago, one with US statistics, another with East African statistics, both of which said there was a statistically significant, but small, difference between the chances of pregnancy from consensual sex vs rape. I couldn't find any articles on these with a quick Googling, but I remember reading them. The other source is the theory that female orgasm is, if not necessary, but certainly helpful for pregnancy to occur... something about the cervix scooping and spasming during orgasm. I remember seeing a documentary on that a few months ago. True or false, that's where he's coming from.

But this exposes something more sinister here, and that's the condescending attitude coastal 'liberal' elites have towards 'conservative' and rural people. Whenever someone makes claims which are seemlingly wild and absurd, particularly when they are, or are trying to become, a Congresscritter or other Electetard, they usually get it from somewhere. There could be a kernel of truth there that is being horribly mangled, or something which was fully valid when they first read it, it could also be something thoroughly rejected by peer review.

Either way, such claims require rational refutation as a teachable moment, not disdain and condescension.

If you wonder why millions of Americans reject the MSM, watch Fox News, listen to talk radio, politicize their religion, reject science, and generally despise the 'left coast' and anything within 200 miles of Harvard Yard, and generally act as if they are under seige, THIS IS WHY.

Liberals get a pass and conservatives get pilloried. For further evidence, look no further than Joe Biden.

Regardless of where hes coming from, Akin employed the phrase "legitimate rape".

It's an ugly phrase and makes us question not only his communication skills but also his values.

Versus perhaps Statutory Rape? His use of ugly shorthand phrases was clear proof of poor communication skills, but not clear proof of poor values. Maybe he really does think acquaintance rape isn't always "legitimate" but that remains to be seen.

And perhaps instead of writing him off as a Troglodyte, why not instead invite him to have a private meeting with rape victims to change his mind? Attaching an issue to one party, while treating an opposing party as pariah, does not serve the interests of the issue, but only of the party. It becomes nothing more than another bludgeon in the arsenal of weapons between the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. The people of Missouri will learn far more about the man from his reaction to such a move than they would from this press-fed controversy.

Also, having seen campaign consultants literally smack a candidate for saying something this stupid, and almost doing so myself once or twice, I would have loved to have seen the dressing down he got for wandering into koo-koo land. lol

Which angle is better for the voters? "What is 'legitimate' rape, Congresscritter Akin?" and letting him dig his hole deeper or valiantly climb out of it? or this press chorus rending their tunics and gnashing their teeth accomplishing nothing but changing the score tally?

You're right that it would be better to engage him.

The only way to change ignorance is engaged interaction.

It's interesting that no one addressed the point at the end of the video..

Why does the baby pay for the crime of the father? Logically how does that make sense to kill a baby?

I went through the conversations carefully and as far as I can tell no one brought up party politics until Jason did, just horror that a congressperson who one might hope be kept up with good science wasn't. Is hating bad science a liberal democratic trait?

It's incredibly important that the people who write our laws, republican and democratic, do so with the knowledge of the facts, and the consequences that exist. Now while I do agree that sorting through the mountain of data is tough, especially since large corporations like to fund studies that get the results they are seeking, it can be done by any well trained scientist. And I'd argue every single congressperson should add a few of those to his or her staff, along with PR (which apparently isn't doing Akins any good), marketing and the guy who gets coffee. I suspect they aren't paid much more than the latter, from what I've seen from my ex-husband's Nasa colleagues.

Making fun of Joe Biden is a good time also. He has better data, but almost as good of a foot/mouth fit.

BTW, I have NO idea why female organism came into the conversation. But I'm always happy to talk about it. If it were necessary for reproduction, we wouldn't be facing a world hunger problem right now. The current most viable scientific theory is that it is a Spandrel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandrel_(biology). There is a TON of data that female orgasm does not effect reproductive success (this is not a bad article covering that and several other female reproductive myths http://www.alternet.org/story/142104/why_do_women_orgasm).

You are right in that there is a mythology that rape doesn't lead to pregnancy. This article is one of the better I found after "googling around"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/20/rep-todd-akin-is-wrong-about-rape-and-pregnancy-but-hes-not-alone/

it refers to a study that clearly cites the number of preganacies caused by rape:

"A separate 2001 study – which used a sample of 405 rape victims between ages 12 and 45 – found that 6.4 percent became pregnant."

and then seeks any scientific study that shows that trauma, etc could prevent it and finds non

"The scientific evidence for this proposition is, unsurprisingly, shaky. Freind later backed off his theory about secretions, switching to an argument that rape would instead “delay, disrupt or prohibit ovulation by preventing the release of hormone-triggering factors.”

Wilke, the former Right to Life president, does not cite any evidence in his essay; “no one knows,” he says of the impact. That does not stop him from estimating that the physical trauma of rape “certainly cuts this last figure by at least 50 percent and probably more.”

Why do these arguments come up again and again, even if the scientific evidence – and public opinion – is clearly not in their favor? Usually, they come from legislators looking to push abortion regulations that tighten the constitutionally-required exceptions for cases of rape and incest."

It looks like "you can't get pregnant from rape" is right up there with "it's ok I'll pull out right before."

I'm touching the "when life begins" conversation with a ten-foot-pole, because that is, and continues to, be a matter of opinion. But how life begins is extremely well understood, and no amount of misinformation in order to push forward agendas, no matter how well intentioned, will change the science.

I want my politicians to be as up to date on science, economics, math and even liberal arts as a newly minted University of Iowa grad. (Go hawks!)

Yes, I know I'm doomed.

You're not doomed, but I do wonder when and why the Republicans decided science is bad.

Because that wasn't always the case. Republicans used to love the NSF during the Cold War.

And the Internet was started under a Republican regime.

And now conservatives have lost their faith in science.

It's sad, really.

As for whether the baby should pay for the crimes of the father, it's an interesting moral question that has fueled the pro choice vs pro life debate for decades. We won't as a country ever have consensus on this issue.

Come on Jason... if it's wrong and condescending and west-coastally elite to make fun of stupid people on the Interwebs... then I guess I just don't want to be right!!! :) I don't see mockery as being out of line here, humor is the best response to fucktardery of all kinds!

Jason, I don't think science is where this commentary came from, as he's the same guy who was trying to introduce "forcible rape" language in a bill as well.

And now several prominent Republicans have declared that Akin's language was inexcusable, offensive, and wrong -- and they are calling for him to step out of the race.

unfortunately the articles I've read have been more "step down and let someone who can win run"

Oh. Then he should definitely keep running so he can be soundly beaten. :)