Tom Smith, GOP Senate Candidate: Pregnancy From Rape Similar To 'Having A Baby Out Of Wedlock'
Trying to distance himself from the "legitimate rape" comment that Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) made last week, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Tom Smith (R) stirred up further controversy by comparing a pregnancy caused by rape to "having a baby out of wedlock."
Smith said Monday at the Pennsylvania Press Club that although he condemns Akin's comment, he agrees with Akin that abortion should be banned without any exceptions, including for rape and incest victims.
Smith's comment comes at an inconvenient time for Republicans, who have been scrambling to distract voters from the firestorm of controversy over Akin's comment last week. Addressing the subject of an abortion exception for rape victims, Akin said that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant because "the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down."
Smith, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in the November election, told reporters that he does not agree with Akin's remark at all. "He should have never said anything like that," Smith said.
Pregnant Woman Relieved To Learn Her Rape Was Illegitimate
LITCHFIELD, CT—Though she was initially upset following the brutal sexual assault last month that left her pregnant, victim Martha Byars told reporters she was relieved Sunday to learn from Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) that her ability to conceive her unwanted child proves she was not, in fact, legitimately raped.
“Being violently coerced into having sex was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, so I take comfort in knowing it wasn’t actually rape,” Byars said of the vicious encounter in which she was accosted in an alleyway by a stranger, pinned to the ground, and penetrated against her will for 25 minutes. “It was absolutely horrific—I felt violated in the worst way imaginable—but thanks to Congressman Akin, I now realize it must, at some level, have been consensual after all.”
although I cannot subscribe to your relentless, irrational hatred of
so many fellow americans that you have never met
I have to agree with you on one point LJ
the position of no abortion for rape or incest is incredibley wrong.
These politicians need to stay focused on important issues mind their own business concerning women's rights.
Don't like abortion...don't have one butt damn sure don't try and tell another what to do...
especially concerning rape and incest
I would concur on some points, disagree with others 500. Terminating a pregnancy that resulted from rape or incest is an extension of the natural right of self defense and that right should be preserved in our laws even though it destroys the right to life of another human life. That has consistently been a part of our laws regarding justification and excuse for the taking of human life and should not change in this instance.
There are extremists at both ends of the political spectrum. Both believe that no exceptions should be made with regards to abortion, they simply disagree as to what it is that should be without any exceptions. The majority view is tempered with reason - that there should be some exceptions rather than an outright prohibition and there should be limits regarding access to obtaining an abortion. The extent of the exceptions and the access is still the subject of debate, but that both should be present is not.
