This week the Political Minute touches on a topic that is instrumental to one political party’s platform.. and that is the issue of abortion…. thankfully brought back to the fore front by US. Representative Todd Akin.

In a local news interview, Congressman Todd Akin said the following:

“It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”

Forget the whole part of a woman not being able to get pregnant when she is raped, he stated later that he “misspoke” about that.  But..

Legitimate Rape?  As opposed to “Her skirt was a little too short rape?”  or “She was asking for it rape?”

Well.. this whole discussion, of course, caused quite an uproar and Akin issued an immediate apology.. stating that the unborn child should not also be harmed in a rape… then he put up a website to clarify things more and raise a few bucks in the process… after a few tries he finally got the website right.

Now Republicans immediately asked Akin to step down from the race, but he refused.

But what exactly did Akin mean by legitimate rape?

Well, if Roe vs. Wade is overturned and abortions are made illegal, except in instances of rape, abortion foes are worried that women will then start lying, claiming rape if that is the only way they can control a mistaken pregnancy.

That is why, last year, the Republicans passed a bill banning all government funding for abortions, except in instances of “forcible rape.”

So now, rapes were being defined as only those occurring when force was involved, or a minor, leaving out date rape, and any other kind of rape.

So, as you can see.. taking away a woman’s right to choose when to have a child starts to lead to all kinds of tricky situations.. either the woman lies, claiming rape, to terminate an unplanned pregnancy and an innocent man goes to jail, or she ends up resorting to back-alley abortions again, possibly dying in the process.

This is what Todd Akin meant when he said “legitimate rape” and thanks to him, he was able to bring to the forefront the discussion of what will happen if abortions are made illegal again, and all the complications that will come with that.

Maybe this is the the reason why religious beliefs should stay out of politics.  If a women doesn’t believe in abortion for religious reasons.. fine.. don’t have an abortion, but don’t force your religious beliefs on those who don’t hold the same beliefs as you.

What do you guys think.. let me know in the comments below.

Rep. Todd Akin – ‘Legitimate Rape’ Statement and Reaction – NYTimes.com

Wake up: It’s not just Akin – CNN.com

Relax — By ‘Legitimate Rape,’ Todd Akin Just Meant When the Woman’s Not Lying Ab…