Akin's Campaign Stands By Claim of Abortions On Women Who "Are Not Actually Pregnant"

[trailmonkee]

Source: buzzfeed

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Todd Akin's campaign is standing by the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri's 2008 claim that doctors commonly perform abortions on women who are not actually pregnant.

Akin's evidence consists of a news report from 1978 and the claims of a former Planned Parenthood official, a spokesman said.

There's ample evidence that abortion doctors on any number of occasions have deceived women into thinking that they're pregnant, and then collect money for a procedure that they don't perform said Rick Tyler, a spokesperson for Akin's campaign. And I say they don't perform it because obviously the women weren't pregnant.

Tyler cited a 1978 investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times that claimed that dozens of abortion mills were performing unnecessary abortions for profit.

There is scarce other, or more recent, documentation of alleged unnecessary abortions for profit. Asked if Akin thinks unnecessary abortion procedures are still a major problem, Tyler said, Who would know? No one reports on it anymore.

That's a war on women that never gets reported he continued. He added, "I don't want Todd to be held to some standard because there's no accurate reporting on abortion, because there isn't.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccaberg/akins-campaign-stands-by-claim-of-abortions-on-wo

[MichiganVote]

1. Well what can you say..the white coats need to put this guy in the looney bin.

[fleur-de-lisa]

2. Holy crap!

The crazy just keeps on coming!

[Ilsa]

3. "Obviously weren't pregnant"? Like he would be

able to diagnose a pregnancy? He doesn't even understand how reproduction works.

[Ken Burch]

4. Uh...what?

n/t.

[zbdent]

5. so, if they weren't really performing abortions ...

then WTF (what's the fuss)???

[yardwork]

6. 1978?

[randome]

7. He also believes in this.

http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=485&tbm=isch&tbnid=YV3nSF3Y-IsiRM:&imgrefurl=http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/baby-storks.shtml&docid=FrRspMDv1VBurM&imgurl=&w=450&h=344&ei=FtZsULLrFpHa8ASzkoGQBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=718&vpy=135&dur=1115&hovh=196&hovw=257&tx=172&ty=105&sig=106415036804199459274&page=1&tbnh=116&tbnw=152&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:177

[Jack Rabbit]

8. Where's the doctor who gave him gynocology lesson about "legitimate rape"

Is he ducking the limelight nowadays? You know, if it ducks like a quack . . .

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. According to Wikipedia, home pregnancy tests went on the market in the mid 70s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy_test

Does that sound right to people? If the Sun-Times article did exist, and did find some doctor doing it, I'd think the spread of home pregnancy tests would make this a far less likely scam for a doctor to do now. It's not surprising he had to go back to 1978 to find talk about it.

[RobinA]

20. It Doesn't Sound Right

to me. I was in college at that time - prime demographic for pregnancy scares, and I know of no one who ever used a home pregnancy test then. We all still went to Planned Parenthood at that time if there was a question. Believe me, if we had known of a home test we would have used it. Now, I wasn't exactly in an urban center at the time, so maybe they hadn't gotten to my college backwoods, but I'd bet a paycheck they weren't available where we were.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Well, no, that was my point

That if they only went on the market in the mid 70s, an investigation in 1978 would be when they weren't widely available (and I think they've grown more reliable over the years too). The chances of some doctor being able to be the person who can make you think you're pregnant, and then be able to say "and I can do an abortion" are pretty small now, I'd think. It might have been possible back then. But this makes Akin's reference irrelevant.

[obamanut2012]

22. I just texted my Mom

And she said yes, by the late 70's, but they were hard to find and VERY expensive.

[pansypoo53219]

10. if you can't SEE the baby.

obviously, not pregnant.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Almost begs the question

what do they call this condition .... hysterical abortion?

[benddem]

12. Then it is not an abortion

it is a D&C. What the hell is he talking about? All his sources are from 1978.

[obamanut2012]

23. Typo in your post -- you meant "1798," not 1978

[marble falls]

13. Akins buggers the imagination. Words otherwise fail me.

[AardvarkAsparagus]

14. He didn’t learn this in Missouri

He attended college outside of Missouri; http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000358, maybe that's what they teach there.

[Canuckistanian]

15. Whoa, wait a minute.....

Doctors "have deceived women into thinking that they're pregnant"???

How does that work? Do they just try this on random, unsuspecting women?

And WHY would a woman go to an abortion doctor in the first place if there was no need to?

These people are fucking insane

[kdmorris]

16. What a complete tool (and an idiot to boot)

"There's ample evidence that abortion doctors on any number of occasions have deceived women into thinking that they're pregnant and then collect money for a procedure that they don't perform"

1. Why would a woman go to an "abortion doctor" when they didn't already know they were pregnant?
2. How would these doctors deceive said woman into believing they are pregnant? Are we all so stupid that we don't know some of those signs - like missing a period or a positive home pregnancy test - that make us suspect we are pregnant?
4. So, then these same women then don't know that a procedure isn't even performed?
5. A news report from 1978??? Seriously??? I was in elementary school then and now I have grandchildren...
6. So... now a D&C is an abortion, even when a woman isn't pregnant? So, would he outlaw those? Because a lot of women with health conditions (like fibroids and polyps) are going to be in a lot of pain and have a lot of bleeding if they just want to outlaw D&Cs in general.
7. Why am I even bothering to make a list of all the things that are wrong with this... what an asshole.

[wordpix]

17. LMAO at the sheer stooopidity of this man & his stooges

but it's scary he's a rep in Congress

[pstokely]

19. from a Gerrymandered repuke district

they'd elect a rock running as a Repuke

[LibertyLover]

18. If the woman wasn't pregnant

then no matter what procedure the doctor might perform, it isn't an abortion. What an idiot.

[RobinA]

21. Even If This Happened

it says nothing about abortion, it says something about medical fraud. Are we to ban every procedure that has ever been the subject of such fraud? In that case, I will be campaigning for a ban on wisdom tooth extractions. I had a dentist once who told me about 10 years ago that my wisdom teeth, which I still have at age 54, were full of cavities, would soon start to be a problem, and needed to come out. I didn't want her doing it, and wasn't having a problem, so I waited until I found a new dentist, some years later. That dentist, after I asked him specifically to look at my wisdom teeth, said No problem. So I still have them and they still aren't a problem. Ban wisdom teeth extractions!!!

[PD Turk]

25. Aww come on

Everybody knows that if women aren't actually pregnant, their bodies have a natural way of shutting down and defending against this type of thing

[kestrel91316]

26. Since abortion is defined as termination of a PREGNANCY,

where no pregnancy exists there can logically be no abortion.

But try telling that to a frothing-at-the-mouth patriarchal christofascist.

[OldDem2012]

27. An applicable quote about lying....

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Joseph Goebbels

Think about that for a moment.

Now, think about a Romney presidency...he's lying now - what will he NOT lie about if he becomes president?

All recent GOP presidents and their track records for lying:

* Nixon (secret bombing campaign in Cambodia/Laos during the Vietnam War, plus the Watergate scandal),
* Ford (previous member of the Warren Commission and was appointed as VP to replace Nixon),
* Reagan (Iran-Contra scandal)
* George H. W. Bush (too many events to list starting with his role in the Bay of Pigs fiasco)
* George W. Bush (poor response to Katrina, two totally unnecessary wars, and the financial collapse)

[librechik]

28. dang, what an immoral waste of tax dollars. Wait. Taxes don't pay for abortions, Wait...

are you sure he said abortions on women who aren't pregnant?

Does he realize an abortion feels like getting your uterus opened with a crowbar and an electric mixer stuck in and turned on for a minute? Like the worst period pain you've ever experienced times 20?

Does anyone ever volunteer for this procedure without needing it?

Oh yeah, those greedy liberal women will beg for anything that's free. Huh?

Akin is a clown.