John Koster, The Rape Thing' Does Not Excuse Abortions

John Koster, a Republican congressional candidate in Washington state, said Sunday that "the rape thing" is not a good enough reason for a woman to have an abortion."  

Koster joins Richard Mourdock who said that pregnancy from rape is "something God intended," Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) who said victims of "legitimate rape" almost never become pregnant, and Rep. Tom Smith (R-Pa.) who compared pregnancy as a result of rape to "having a baby out of wedlock."

This isn't about right wing/tea party-GOP-Taliban/ candidates saying things that are stupid. It reveals a view of life that is beyond insensitivity. They are close to condemning women for getting raped, as if they were were responsible for their own tragedies.

The more they say, the worse it gets. 
"Incest is so rare, I mean, it's so rare," he said. "But the rape thing-- you know, I know a woman who was raped and kept the child, gave it up for adoption, and she doesn't regret it."

He added, "On the rape thing, it's like, how does putting more violence onto a woman's body and taking the life of an innocent child that's a consequence of this crime -- how does that make it better? You know what I mean?"

KIRKWOOD, MO - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R)

Akins comments have cost him a Senate seat which was within his grasp until his utterances revealed a meanness devoid of sensitivity to women who have suffered a horrible tragedy.

There are undoubtedly more men who share the views of the four cited above. For them, it is fortunate that the election will be over and no one will be asking them questions that can destroy their careers by revealing who they really are.

Jailed Afghan rape victim freed

The headline for this post is revolting. The description of what happened to this woman reveals a twisted and bizarre mindset. It is incomprehensible to me that a woman would be jailed after a man rapes her. Yet, this  happened in Afghanistan, and not for the first time. I assume that if I talked to a man from Afghanistan he would tell me that I did not understand the way his society functions. My response would be, "When you imprison women for being raped, you have a grotesque imitation of a society."

From CNN

 An Afghan woman imprisoned for adultery after a relative raped her has been freed after President Hamid Karzai intervened on her behalf. The woman, identified only as Gulnaz for her own protection, had been sentenced to prison for 12 years after she reported that her cousin's husband had raped her two years ago. Wednesday, she was free at a women's shelter in Kabul, with her daughter..

 Her plight gained international attention when the European Union blocked the broadcast of a documentary about her ordeal, saying it would further jeopardize her safety. Afghan Justice Minister Habibullah Ghaleb and a judiciary committee both proposed a pardon. Karzai then ordered authorities to decree Gulnaz's release.

 Afghani men do not need to be protected from the Taliban as much as Afghani women need to be protected from Afghani men.