“Legitimate rape” is making a comeback.

The idea first emerged during the 2012 elections, when Missouri incumbent congressman Todd Akin famously stated, in support of his anti-abortion stance that “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down” (via Slate).  

In this memoir, Akin reminds us how he lost his congressional seat in 2012. (U.S. Congress, Wikimedia Commons)

“That whole thing” being of course, pregnancy - an involuntary, biological phenomenon.

Public opinion was so strong that even senior Republicans called for Akin to step down as the party’s nominee. Many believe that this comment was the tipping point that caused him to lose the race to challenger Claire McCaskill (D). 

In his newest memoir, Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and the Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom, Akin reiterates his belief that many lie about being raped to cover up their promiscuity. Most notably, he claims that the Roe v. Wade decision, the very basis of the right to reproductive choice in the U.S. was based on a lie told by the plaintiff.  

His claims only fuel a growing belief by conservatives that women are lying about rape for attention or revenge, as the issue of sexual violence on college campuses increases in visibility. 

It is then apparent why Akin believes that now is the right time for him to unleash his ignorant philosophy about women’s bodies on the American public. 

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