Rep. Trent Franks is the newest in a long line of Republicans to make false claims about pregnancy and rape. (Wikimedia Commons)

During a House Judiciary Committee debate to pass legislation that would ban abortions nationwide at 20 weeks of pregnancy, in direct contravention of the Roe vs. Wade ruling, Republican Congressman Trent Franks asserted that “the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.” Unsurprisingly, both Democrats and Republicans spoke out against Franks, denouncing his statement and pointing out that it was scientically unsubstantied. GOP Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez even called him a moron. Franks did attempt to clarify his remarks hours later, but they had already been widely reported.

His statement is the newest addition to an illustrious collection of outrageous arguments by Republicans concerning rape, pregnancy, and abortion. Todd Akin became the poster child of such GOP gaffes when he stated during his 2012 Senate race, in response to a question about rape exceptions to abortion bans, that in cases of “legitimate rape” women’s bodies have “ways to shut that whole thing down.” It is widely believed that the media outrage that followed caused Akin to lose an easily winnable race.

What is most alarming about Franks’ and Akin’s statements is not that they radically promote the pro-life agenda at the expense of rape victims, but that they attempt to legitimize these efforts with make-believe science. They rely on the premise that it would be illogical to oppose any anti-abortion policies that can be supported by a discipline whose very nature is factual, empirical, and therefore impartial. Except neither Franks nor Akin is qualified to invoke scientific knowledge of the female body, and the fact that they can casually attribute science to blanket assertions that have no factual basis reflects both an arrogance and desperation that undermines real medical knowledge.

More insidiously, politicians like Franks and Akin abuse the media attention they garner as members of Congress  by broadcasting their “no pregnancy from rape” propaganda to the American public. In conjunction with American’s abysmal cultural literacy and the public’s inclination to trust its elected officials, the lowest common denominator of the electorate may very well accept this radical position as scientifically sound, rendering them unable to be truly informed voters.  

If you must promote an anti-choice agenda, be like Richard Mourdock: claim that “God intended it.” Then we can debate the place of personal religious beliefs in the laws of a secular society (I'll save you the energy; they have no place.). But using pseudo-science to make misleading claim to the public is flagrantly unethical. Leave talk about women’s reproductive processes to the medical professionals, and rape and pregnancy to women themselves.   

Reach Columist Ashley Yang here.