We’ve been over this, but apparently it requires repeating: being raped doesn’t make you immune to getting pregnant. That is fundamentally not how the female reproductive system works. Yet, in a nice case of deja vu, Idaho State Representative Pete Nielsen opined about how women usually don’t get pregnant from rape–a nice reminder of similar comments made by failed 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin.

Nielsen’s comments about the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from rape were made during an Idaho State House committee hearing on a bill that would require abortion providers to tell women where they can get a free ultrasound. One of the issues with that provision is that it may mean that many women get referred to more “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are well known for trying to scare women away from getting abortions, and rely on false scientific claims. Additionally, the bill provides no exceptions for rape and incest, and to that point, Nielsen stated:

Now, I’m of the understanding that in many cases of rape, it does not involve any pregnancy because of the trauma of the situation. That may be true with incest a little bit.

When he was asked if it was impossible for a victim of rape to get pregnant, he said:

No, no, I just think that it’s much more difficult, because of the trauma, that the body itself is not going to accept, like it would in consensual sex.

When asked to elaborate, he admitted that he wasn’t very confident about his information, stating:

That’s information that I’ve had through the years. Whether it’s totally accurate or not, I don’t know. I read a lot of information. I have read it several times. … Being a father of five girls, I’ve explored this a lot.

There are a lot of issues here–first of all, there is literally no scientific evidence that women are less likely to become pregnant if they’re victims of rape or incest as opposed to consensual sex. While this idea has long been a popular myth, it’s been proven utterly untrue. In fact, some studies indicate that it’s actually more likely that a woman who has been raped will get pregnant (although it’s also unclear why that is.)

Back in 2012, Todd Akin’s similar comments about “legitimate rape” at least in part contributed to his failed Senate campaign. Nielsen is now receiving plenty of criticism for his comments, but the bill that his committee was debating did pass. The issue is that it passed based on a vote from at least one person (Nielsen) who has absolutely no understanding of how biology or conception works. But I guess that’s just the state of politics now–doubting scientific evidence and passing dubious bills.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Most of us remember Todd Akin, former Missouri Senate candidate, for his comments about how women cannot get pregnant if they are “legitimately raped.” Unfortunately for him, and for everyone who has to deal with his moronic comments, the fiasco hasn’t ended there. In a recent attempt to explain his 2012 comments, all he did was dig himself into a deeper hole. It’s probably time to just stop talking, Mr. Akin. I mean, I’ve heard from doctors that if you legitimately have stupid thoughts, you won’t say them because your mouth has the ability to shut the whole thing down. Or, in this case, your hand will lose its ability to write a book if you plan to write legitimately ridiculous words.

In his new book (how did he get a publishing deal?), Firing Back, Akin defends his infamous 2012 “legitimate rape” comments and blames the evil media for spinning the whole thing. Someone needs to explain to Akin what spinning means, because he obviously doesn’t know. The media saying exactly what a politician says during an interview is not spin, Mr. Akin. That’s what we call “reporting the facts.”

In what I am sure is a positively invigorating piece of literature, Akin tries to educate his readers about what “legitimate rapes” are. You see, some rapes are not “legitimate” because some women falsely accuse, and when he spoke about a woman’s body shutting “that whole thing down,” he didn’t mean the reproductive system battening down the hatches. Rather, he was referring to rape-related “stress” inhibiting her ability to get pregnant. He does concede that perhaps his wording was a little off.  I feel like I need a Todd Akin Dictionary of Rape Terms to understand this guy’s insane reasoning.

Well, almost…

His comment brings up so many questions: what exactly is “illegitimate rape?” When a woman rejects sex sarcastically? When her attacker rapes her in a certain location? As far as I, and hopefully most other people with common sense know, uteri and fallopian tubes don’t have the capability of self-realization. I’ve never heard a case of ovaries yelling, “We’re under attack! Shut the whole thing down!” to their reproductive-system comrades.

Reviews say that the take away from his new book is that despite his apology immediately following the comments in 2012, Akin is legitimately not sorry. Apology redacted.

But not actually…

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Marisa Mostek (@MarisaJ44) loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured Image Courtesy of [Jennifer Moo via Flickr]

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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