The answer to the question seems to be that an unlimited amount of falsehood and fantasy is assumed true by a very large and (at least to me) scary portion of the public.

The latest example comes from Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill. He opposes the right to abortion even in the case of rape. Why? Because he believes that where there is a “legitimate”  rape, a woman’s body produces chemicals that stop impregnation. The claim is false and I have to ask how any rape is “legitimate.”

First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

This is simply untrue. In case you are interested, pregnancy from
rape is common.

Rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency. It is a cause of many unwanted pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence. As we address the epidemic of unintended pregnancies in the United States, greater attention and effort should be aimed at preventing and identifying unwanted pregnancies that result from sexual victimization.

For the love of God, how does ideology override science again and again in the United States? I know we are far from a properly educated country, but how much can we take of this kind of flat-out bullshit? How can a nominated candidate for the United States Senate hold, and proudly advocate, such views? And why is it that men are always, always the ones who concoct these false theories to support control of women? Why?

(via Balloon Juice)

Update: It appears that many GOP insiders are calling for a replacement of Todd Akin as candidate for the US Senate.

Related articles

• Todd Akin: “Legitimate rape” stops pregnancy (salon.com)
• Republican Senate Nominee In Missouri Says Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don’t Get Pregnant (themoderatevoice.com)
• GOP Senate nominee: Women don’t get pregnant from ‘legitimate’ rapes (rawstory.com)
• Missouri Republican claims ‘legitimate rape’ rarely results in pregnancy (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)