Abortion Debate Reveals Republicans' True Colors

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/us-republican-party-moves-to-the-far-right-a-851738.html

08/23/2012 23.08.2012

Chaperones, Judges and Moralizers

Abortion Debate Reveals Republicans' True Colors

A Commentary by Marc Pitzke in New York

<snip>The über-conservative congressman from Missouri was a favorite to snatch a coveted Senate seat in November and thus perhaps help his Republican Party reclaim the majority in both chambers of Congress.

Then came Sunday. In a local TV interview, Akin held forth about a favorite issue of his. Abortion, he said, should be illegal even in rape cases because, he claimed, a "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy: "The female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

In other words, if women are victims of "legitimate" rape, the stress should work as a contraceptive. This from a man who sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

For Akin, such outrageous blather is nothing new. He often delights in Bible-thumping rants against liberals, global warming and President Barack Obama. His constituents love it: A House member since 2001, the 65-year-old theologian has been reelected five times, most recently in 2010 with a whopping 67.9 percent.