Read this... on Todd Akin, rape and US politics

An TV interview by a relatively obscure US Senate candidate launched days to discussion, argument and debate about rape.

A report on the interview with Rep. Todd Akin can be found at: 

Rep. Todd Akin: No pregnancy from 'legitimate rape'

Talking about conception following a rape, Rep Akin said "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. 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 of the rapist, and not attacking the child."

The Atlantic reported on How Often Does Rape Lead to Pregnancy? 

The Slate Double X gabfest (The P90X Edition) discussed the situation. As did the Slate Political Gabfest (The Legitimate/Forcible Gabfest). Their general consensus was that Akin was quoting bad science and was being punished by the Republican establishment for articulating the actual beliefs of the Republican party.


The Republican platform can be read here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/28/read-the-full-republican-platform/

The text includes the following:
Faithful to the “self-evident” truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

This basically means that the party is completely anti-abortion (with no exception for rape or incest).


The 2012 Democratic platform has yet to be finalised.
The 2008 platform can be found here:http://www.democrats.org/about/party_platform
The text includes the following:

The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.



I do not want citizens from other countries telling me how to vote, so i try not to tell citizens of other countries how to vote. However it is clear that if US citizens vote on economic grounds, there will be social implications.