Wilkes, Akin and the Republican Party

I think that a lot of people don't understand the significance of the Akin slip. When Akin discussed the issue of legitimate rape, he was serious. He really did, and possibly still does, believe that to be true. Afterall, a real doctor said so.

But what does this doctor have to do with the rest of the Republican Party?

The Pro-Life movement wants all abortions banned; even in cases where the pregnancy is a result of rape and incest. The only political party that is going to make that happen is the Republican Party. The problem is that a lot of the men in that party are having problems with the idea of a woman being forced to carry her rapists baby.

So, forward steps Dr. Wilkes, whose role it is to help get these folks over the idea that a woman would have to be forced to carry her rapist's baby.

Recently, I used the word uterus on my facebook page during an argument with a right wing male friend during an argument about Akin. At the very mention of this organ, my friend decided to exit the argument - said the word uterus made him queasy. I believe this is very typical. The men in Washington who are being encouraged to legislate this law have no interest in understanding the biology and anatomy of the female body. If a doctor comes along and tells these men what they need to know, without using words like vagina and uterus, then that would be more comfortable.

Akin believed Dr. Wilkes when he said that a woman's body shuts down during a rape and prevents pregnancy. And I'm certain when he got that particular lesson on female biology, that he was among many of his Right Wing colleagues. His colleagues accepted this argument because it helped them to find it conscionable to ban abortion, even in the case of rape. If indeed a rape victim got pregnant, then the rape was not legitimate and the lawmaker doesn't have to feel guilty for his position on the subject.

Romney is not that far removed from Wilkes. As discussed in this article. He's trying to distance himself from Akin's remarks. And truth-be-told, Romney probably doesn't believe Wilkes' rhetoric. The problem, however, is that Romney probably wasn't vocal enough against it because he wants the Party's support.

The disturbing issue here is that Akin inadvertently pulled back the curtain and let us look inside. And what we saw was that men wanted to make decisions about the rights of women based on bogus information. It left us with the question regarding other bogus information they received on other issues. It revealed a complete lack of interest in gathering accurate information. The Republican Party has become a group of really ignorant people who have made it a point to remove themselves as far as they possibly can from the people they govern. They set rules without regard to impact.

Obama really needs to win this election. If he loses, I believe women are at risk of becoming less than 2nd class citizens. The Pro Life Movement wants to reduce the significance of a woman to less than that of a zygot and the Republican Party is about to deliver it to them.