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wordpix

(18,652 posts)
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 10:35 AM Aug 2012

Ryan on rape & being pro-life: "the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life"

From Obama for America, in my mailbox this am:

Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, was asked this week about whether it should be legal for a rape victim to get an abortion.

His response: "I'm very proud of my pro-life record, and I've always adopted the ... position that the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life."

Doesn't the phrase "method of conception" make your skin crawl? Let's be clear: Ryan is saying that rape victims should be forced to carry their pregnancies to full term -- a position the Republican Party embraced when they wrote this year's platform.

If you're on Facebook, share this with your friends -- or forward this email along -- and make sure they know which candidate is on our side:

If it were up to Mitt Romney, you wouldn't hear another word about this issue. His campaign even asked one reporter not to bring up abortion, because they know the answer isn't one most voters want to hear.

This is about more than a comment on abortion or rape. It's about a party that has an extreme platform when it comes to choice -- which Romney-Ryan would not hesitate to carry forward.

It's our job to make sure all of our friends and family know exactly what the Republican Party stands for -- and which candidate is standing up for us:

http://my.barackobama.com/Share-This-Now

Thanks,

Buffy

Buffy Wicks
National Operation Vote Director
Obama for America

13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Ryan on rape & being pro-life: "the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life" (Original Post) wordpix Aug 2012 OP
Sigh. At least he's consistent. Dogmatic and none to bright, PDJane Aug 2012 #1
I was thinking the same thing. nt ZombieHorde Aug 2012 #5
Ryan already has one foot in the grave GallopingGhost Aug 2012 #2
This statement didn't seem to make much noise PlanetBev Aug 2012 #3
Among the many things that enrage me about this SheilaT Aug 2012 #4
Yet the fact of conception changes the autonomy of the woman. gkhouston Aug 2012 #6
To be fair, Ryan's wife doesn't make any distinction between the two...(nt) Jeff In Milwaukee Aug 2012 #7
Let me edit that statement for you, Paul Ryan: July Aug 2012 #8
Rape has become "just a word" for some people. qwlauren35 Aug 2012 #9
BEAUTIFULLY said. GallopingGhost Aug 2012 #10
How does your foot taste Paul? Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Aug 2012 #11
AND, the definition of life does NOT change to meet Paul Ryan's religious needs Coyotl Aug 2012 #12
You can tell..... mojo2012 Aug 2012 #13

PDJane

(10,103 posts)
1. Sigh. At least he's consistent. Dogmatic and none to bright,
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 10:44 AM
Aug 2012

totally unaware of basic economics, completely imbecilic on tax policy, and disgustingly elitist.........

But consistent.

GallopingGhost

(2,404 posts)
2. Ryan already has one foot in the grave
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 11:17 AM
Aug 2012

on this topic with thinking women; let's hope he just keeps talking.

Rape is not a "method." It's a violent hate crime. Sick.

PlanetBev

(4,098 posts)
3. This statement didn't seem to make much noise
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 11:18 AM
Aug 2012

Not like the Akin statement. I hope this gets more attention.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
4. Among the many things that enrage me about this
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 12:48 PM
Aug 2012

kind of "pro-life" attitude is that these people NEVER adopt a child, and certainly never are willing to give support to a woman bearing an unwanted child. No pre-natal care, no support after the baby is born. It's a sacred sac of cells, that's all they care about.

gkhouston

(21,642 posts)
6. Yet the fact of conception changes the autonomy of the woman.
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 03:16 PM
Aug 2012

Nice to know where we rate in the scheme of things.

July

(4,750 posts)
8. Let me edit that statement for you, Paul Ryan:
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 07:01 PM
Aug 2012

You should have said that "the method of conception doesn't change MY definition of life."

There is no carved-in-stone, universally agreed upon "definition of life" among us, as you like to pretend.

Me, I see a woman's life or a girl's life as altered forever by an aggressive act perpetrated upon her. I value that already-born life more than a rapist's sperm or the zygote/embryo/fetus created by his violence.

You, on the other hand, seem quite comfortable forgetting entirely that the girl or woman constitutes "a life." Whatever havoc you and your ilk wish to wreak upon her matters not a whit to you. All because you think you have THE definition of life.

It sickens me.

qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
9. Rape has become "just a word" for some people.
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 08:51 PM
Aug 2012

I hear it over and over again, and it seems to be losing it's power to strike fear.

Because being raped is a fear that many women have. It is a special kind of violence. Rape is when someone else inserts himself into your body. Painfully, forcibly. Sometimes at gunpoint, sometimes at knifepoint. Sometimes just from sheer size and strength, wrestling you to the ground and pinning you so that you can't get up. Punching you in the head so that you are dazed. Choking you. And then, on top of that, complete and utter violation. A sense of emotional pain and scarring that sometimes seems impossible to heal from. You may never again feel the same way about any man. You may spend the rest of your life scared and looking over your shoulder. You may have trouble even making love to your husband or loved one. You may have flashbacks.

"Rape is rape" does not convey the level of violation that a woman feels.

We women are taught from a young age to guard our bodies, to treat our vagina as sacred, and to be careful whom we let within our most inner sphere. Even when we make the decision to let a man into our bodies, it is still a decision that comes after some thought.

Every woman, when her first period comes, realizes that she may have the potential to create life, but also a responsibility to choose wisely who will father her child.

Rape rips away that decision making process. Rape reminds women of their ultimate physical vulnerability. That they have a body that some men, some man, will use and discard, violently, in thought or deed.

Even when we want to be attractive, even when we want a man's attention, even when we want to make love, or just have casual sex, we do NOT want to be raped.

And if we are raped, the last thing in this world that we want is to be pregnant. You do not want a 9 month reminder of violation and horror. An unwanted pregnancy is hard enough to bear. An unwanted pregnancy from rape... it's inhumane.

Rape is not "another form of conception". This denies the personhood of the woman, her feelings, her reality, her position, her victimhood.

Paul Ryan, even if he was raped, would never know what it is like to have your body BETRAY you by conceiving a child from hatred. Rape is THE WORST "form of conception." And more men need to understand what rape is really like in order to understand how sick Ryan's statement is, and what it says about his view of the Personhood of Women.

GallopingGhost

(2,404 posts)
10. BEAUTIFULLY said.
Mon Aug 27, 2012, 09:03 PM
Aug 2012

Rape is an act of VIOLENCE and a CRIME.

Apparently Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney and Mr. Akin can't comprehend that.

 

Coyotl

(15,262 posts)
12. AND, the definition of life does NOT change to meet Paul Ryan's religious needs
Tue Aug 28, 2012, 09:08 AM
Aug 2012

But it will if these Zealots appoint a Supreme Court Justice.

mojo2012

(290 posts)
13. You can tell.....
Tue Aug 28, 2012, 09:54 AM
Aug 2012

Paul Ryan is having a tough time being forced to follow Romney's announcement on abortion exceptions. You can see he just cringes when he can't say what he really believes. Hopefully,(if asked the question repeatedly) it would be a matter of time before he blows and says his abortion bill banning abortions under any circumstance (rape, incest) is the right thing to do.
I'm sure he believes if he can last a couple more months, that if Romney gets elected, he can "sway" wet noodle Romney his way....

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