If a victim of forcible rape can’t get pregnant, then would you, as a juror, automatically vote to acquit an accused rapist if his alleged victim got pregnant?
(And if not, why not?)
A man is on trial for puncturing another man’s eye with a key during a fight outside a Philadelphia bar. The victim is on the stand, testifying, when his prosthetic eye suddenly pops out and falls into his hand. (What the judge decided) For links to CJA posts as soon … Continue reading →
The answer For links to CJA posts as soon as they go online, as well as Facebook-only content, please “like” us (using the button on the upper right-hand portion of this page). This article, and all articles on this site, are © 2013 by Bill Bickel unless otherwise noted.
Jennifer O’Brien, a New Jersey first grade teacher, has been fired for writing on her Facebook page “I’m not a teacher — I’m a warden for future criminals,” and that her students should take part in a “scared straight” program. She’d intended the posts to be read only by her … Continue reading →
“I think that when a child is trying to save the world, I don’t think he should be punished for it” -Mandy Watkins, mother of Colorado second-grader Alex Evans During recess, Alex threw an imaginary hand grenade into a box full of “pretend evil forces.” You’d think school officials would … Continue reading →
On Twitter:
Rape is rape! What has pregnancy (or not) got to do with it?
Guilty!
I’m basing the question on Akin’s “fact” that if a woman is REALLY raped, her body will automatically block conception. Acquitting the rapist seems to be the logical extension of this.
He never said women “can’t” get pregnant due to rape. He never said they “won’t” get pregnant due to rape.
He said they “rarely” get pregnant due to rape. According to a 1996 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, about 5% of rapes result in pregnancy. The question then remains; should 5% pregnancy rate be considered “rare”?
As far as “legitimate rape”, the guy should have clarified between violent rape and statutory rape. Yes, they are both crimes, but I think that an 18 year-old guy having consentual sex with his 16 year-old girlfriend is a lot different than some animal beating a woman into submission, using and abusing her, and leaving her shattered for the remainder of her life.
Of course, I could be wrong.
No, 5% should not be considered “rare.” This is essentially the same as the probability that consensual sexual intercourse results in pregnancy.
Nothing about the context indicates that legitimate meant “not statutory.”
I certainly would if I lived in the 14th century. It has been argued that Geoffrey Chaucer was once tried for rape, and was acquitted because the victim became pregnant. The logic at that time was that conception (or “quickening”) only occurred at the moment of orgasm, so pregnancy could only result if the woman enjoyed it. I suspect Akin is of a similar mentality.
“Quickening” is the first movement of the fetus. I sincerely doubt that occurs at conception – unless you’re Akin.
The woman got pregnant elsewise of course. If he is unmarried then she must be tried as a fornicatress or adultress.
Famous case in the early 70′s – a young unmarried teacher in Illinois was raped and became pregnant. She chose to carry the pregnancy to term despite the circumstances, and the school board promptly fired her for immorality.
And that, best beloved, is why public employees have unions.
I don’t think he believes it at all. It’s a callous, cynical lie meant only to trap women and cause them as much pain and suffering as possible.
That’s all it is, that’s all it ever will be.
I know lots of people who believe things like the claim that Akin made. So, regardless of whether Akin believes it or not, Akin would vote to acquit the rapist so as not to alienate his voter base.
Unless, of course, the sentiment of his voter base was to hang the b*stard, in which case, the pregnancy would miraculously become the one-in-a-million exception to the “ways to shut that whole thing down” rule.
This is what happens when the Religious Right teaches sex ed.
So I just learned this today.
“In the vast majority of states — 31 — men who father through rape are able to assert the same custody and visitation rights to their children that other fathers enjoy. When no law prohibits a rapist from exercising these rights, a woman may feel forced to bargain away her legal rights to a criminal trial in exchange for the rapist dropping the bid to have access to her child.”
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/opinion/prewitt-rapist-visitation-rights/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
If the powers that be are really interested in protecting the victims of rape you’d think that this would have been addressed a long time ago.