| Akin — Misconceptions About Abortion: A Chance for Real Debate |
“First of all, from what I
understand from doctors, (pregnancy from rape) is really rare,” Akin told
KTVI-TV in a clip posted to YouTube by the Democratic super PAC American
Bridge. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut
that whole thing down.”
Akin added: “But let’s assume
that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some
punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the
child.” — (Akin
on KTVI)
Congressman
Todd Akin’s controversial statement about abortion is a candid declaration by a
candidate. The Democratic party in Missouri, including embattled incumbent
Claire McCaskill, is taking one sentence and explicating a host of execrable assumptions
out of it just to cover up for years of profligate taxation, spending, waste, debts
and deficits which are bankrupting Missouri and the country.
The
real shame is that media pundits and political activists are jumping up and down
about this one comment for the wrong
reasons, and that the Republican Party is pressuring Akin to step down. I
for one commend Congressman Akin for apologizing for sharing this view, but I
hope that he chooses not to step down.
The
viewing public in this country must choose to be enlightened and informed
voters. Hollow attacks and misquotes do not deserve to dominate the public
discourse. Akin said a stupid thing – that does not make him a stupid man or an
unacceptable candidate. Claire McCaskill’s liberal agenda of expanding the
state at the expense of the voters today and the unborn children of future
generations, all of whom will be burdened with the immoral debts and deficits
weighing on this country, deserves greater scrutiny. This woman brazenly
supported “ObamaCare”, a crushing entitlement which has robbed Medicare by $700
billion while issuing burdensome regulations which have forced hospitals to
close, while forcing health insurance premiums way up and considerably
diminishing access.
Referring
to the real issues with Akin’s comments, I do not agree with Akin’s phrasing of
“legitimate rape”, nor do I accept the notion that the human body will “shut
down” in order to prevent the pregnancy. I do not agree, either, that abortion
should be outlawed completely, even in extreme cases of rape, incest, or the
life of the mother is in jeopardy. However, I do agree that our communities
should spend more time punishing individuals who have raped others, rather than
focusing first and foremost on terminating the life of the baby born as a
result of such a traumatic crime, although the option must remain available.
One
of the most progressive movements in the country, Feminists for Life, has a number of
liberal advocates, yet they have also advanced a number of arguments which
point out the potential dangers of abortion. The group has provided numerous accounts
of victimized women who chose to have the child, despite suffering rape. The
point is that the issue of abortion is too fraught to be decided one way or
another by constitutional fiat, either by amendment or by judicial ruling, nor
should this issue be reduced to inane sound-bites.
I
am unapologetically pro-life, and I am unapologetically pro-freedom. Even Boalt
Hall School of Law Distinguished professor Sanford Kadish pointed out that life
is the chief right from which all other rights descend: see Blame and Punishment: Essays in the Criminal
Law (1987) The real problem with abortion, then, is about the decision-making
process. However, the Republican Party would be warring against its
limited-government principles in making a black-and-white decision regarding the
full criminalization of abortion. Because abortion involves the life of an
unborn person, this issue must be decided with respect to life, not law.
Personally,
I believe that every state should be permitted to enact legislation which
outlines the limited exceptions when abortion is tolerable, with full
understanding that it is a life that is at stake, both the mother as well as
the child. Neither the Supreme Court nor the federal government has any right
to dictate into the lives of others, nor can a blunt instrument like federal
law protect our unborn children the way that individuals and local communities
can.
| Claire McCaskill: Anti-Choice, Anti-Life, Anti-Liberty |
Mr.
Akin made a poor remark, one which should engage the Republican and Democratic
parties, as well as the voters and the institutions in this country, to respect
life, but also to respect the fact that life is tragic in many cases, and that the
federal government has no business attempting to prevent this reality.
Having
shared my thoughts on this issue, I fully support a more aware, more discerning
Mr. Akin, or any other Republican who runs against Ms. Claire McCaskill. Because
the embattled Missouri incumbent supported ObamaCare, the outrageous
encroachment of the state into our daily lives, the embattled incumbent has
demonstrated unequivocally that she is neither “pro-choice” nor “pro-life’, but
“pro-tax”, “pro-spend”, “pro-government”, and therefore “anti-Missouri.”