I commented last night that I was done reading diaries about Todd Akin's stupidity. But it bothers me so much, I can't get away from it until I put in my two cents.
We have amazing bodies. Reproduction has always amazed me, that is after I got over the "ewwww, my parents wouldn't do that" phase. But that that beautiful act of love and ecstasy created another beautiful person is what can only be described as a miracle. I never used the word "miracle" to describe it until my own miracle was born. Although I talked to her and played with her for many months prior to her birth, until she actually emerged, I only intellectually understood that she existed. When the nurse handed her to me, I knew she was a miracle.
Equally amazing is the complexity of the brain of these creatures we call human beings. When I took Abnormal Psychology many years ago, I learned that there is a very thin thread between sex and violence. I remember it well because it took me awhile to digest that concept. I guess I digested it so well that the ignorance related to rape makes my skin crawl and my stomach tie itself into tight knots.
When I first heard about Akin's statement, I though he was saying that pregnancy as a result of rape is rare. That's probably a true statement. It's rarity doesn't negate the fact that a woman who has been violently attacked probably doesn't want to carry to term a reminder of that attack. To deny her an abortion is no less than continuing the violence. To those who would continue that violence, I say FUCK YOU.
Many diaries have focused on the really stupid part of his statement. As amazing as a woman's body is, it is incapable of discerning the mindset of the man whose sperm finds one of her eggs to fertilize. We all know it's a stupid statement and it misses the point.
In general, incest is violence as well. Most cases of incest are more often referred to as child sexual assault (or abuse). My daughter was sexually abused by her father (my ex-husband). A few years after she revealed her long held secret, I discovered that the abuse started when she was an infant. I won't go into the details of how it was revealed (to me, not her---she probably doesn't even know). When I asked her psychologist, all she said was "babies intuit the hostility." So, even infants recognize violence (hostility).
This is why I can't read any more of these diaries. I have only contempt for people who would deny a woman an abortion. I don't know a word to convey the feelings I have for those who would deny an abortion "even in cases of rape or incest."
To those who would continue that violence, I say FUCK YOU.