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The judge in this case may be well versed in the law but is clearly a complete ignoramus when it comes to human (and specifically female) physiology. By making such a statement he is tacitly blaming the woman for the rape. What a disgrace this man is to suggest such a thing. He's clearly not fit to judge cases such as this and as such should be disbarred.
03:28 Sun 16th Dec 2012
The incident involving Todd Akin during last November's election here in the US was, at least, based on a long discarded medical opinion. Dr. Fred Mecklenburg wrote in 1972, (an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Minnesota Medical School at the time) "that pregnancy resulting from rape "is extremely rare," and cited as an example the city of Buffalo, N.Y., which had not seen "a pregnancy from confirmed rape in over 30 years." Other cities -- Chicago, Washington, St. Paul -- also had experienced lengthy spells without a rape-caused pregnancy.
The reasons were numerous: Not all rapes result in "a completed act of intercourse," Mecklenburg wrote. He added that it was "improbable" that a rape would occur "on the 1-2 days of the month in which the woman would be fertile."
Mecklenburg's third reason seems to have been picked up by Akin, A woman exposed to the trauma of rape, Mecklenburg wrote, "will not ovulate even if she is 'scheduled' to."
But a host of other research disputes Mecklenburg's conclusions, both on the scarcity of pregnancy following rape and natural defenses to prevent conception.
"From a scientific standpoint, what's legitimate and fair to say is that a woman who is raped has the same chances of getting pregnant as a woman who engaged in consensual intercourse during the same time in her menstrual cycle," said Dr. Barbara Levy, vice president for health policy at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists...
The reasons were numerous: Not all rapes result in "a completed act of intercourse," Mecklenburg wrote. He added that it was "improbable" that a rape would occur "on the 1-2 days of the month in which the woman would be fertile."
Mecklenburg's third reason seems to have been picked up by Akin, A woman exposed to the trauma of rape, Mecklenburg wrote, "will not ovulate even if she is 'scheduled' to."
But a host of other research disputes Mecklenburg's conclusions, both on the scarcity of pregnancy following rape and natural defenses to prevent conception.
"From a scientific standpoint, what's legitimate and fair to say is that a woman who is raped has the same chances of getting pregnant as a woman who engaged in consensual intercourse during the same time in her menstrual cycle," said Dr. Barbara Levy, vice president for health policy at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists...
I can believe that pregnancy from rape is rare, Clanad, but this business about a woman's body magically preventing rape by "shutting down" is appalling; it seems to be part of his conclusion that she didn't put up a fight - against a man beating her with a metal bar.
I normally argue that US justice is every bit as fair as British justice (though penalties tend to be much harsher), and its officials just as responsible; but judges like this one sure make it difficult for me.
I normally argue that US justice is every bit as fair as British justice (though penalties tend to be much harsher), and its officials just as responsible; but judges like this one sure make it difficult for me.
The judge in this case may be well versed in the law but is clearly a complete ignoramus when it comes to human (and specifically female) physiology. By making such a statement he is tacitly blaming the woman for the rape. What a disgrace this man is to suggest such a thing. He's clearly not fit to judge cases such as this and as such should be disbarred.
AOG
Should we be limited to threads about UK news stories?
Regarding pregnancies from rape - what should also be taken into consideration is that if a woman found out she was pregnant from a rape,wouldn't she be more likely to seek a termination? If this is the case, the number of reported pregnancies due to rape would skewed, because there would be no evidence of the pregnancy.
Women who have been raped, and subsequently become pregnant and then have an abortion are unlikely to show up in the figures.
Should we be limited to threads about UK news stories?
Regarding pregnancies from rape - what should also be taken into consideration is that if a woman found out she was pregnant from a rape,wouldn't she be more likely to seek a termination? If this is the case, the number of reported pregnancies due to rape would skewed, because there would be no evidence of the pregnancy.
Women who have been raped, and subsequently become pregnant and then have an abortion are unlikely to show up in the figures.
em, the statement was that women get pregnant by rape as often as they do by consensual sex. About 5% of rapes lead to pregnancy; that sounds rare to me, though you may define rare differently.
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As naomi says, pregnancy isn't the main issue, but Clanad has pointed out that it's part of the thinking behind the judge's "reasoning" and is worth looking at.
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As naomi says, pregnancy isn't the main issue, but Clanad has pointed out that it's part of the thinking behind the judge's "reasoning" and is worth looking at.
Terrible insensitive comments. There have been several high profile instances of insensitive or just plain stupid comments highlighted recently.
There still seems to be a body of opinion, often held by men in positions of influence, that it is somehow either the womans fault if they are raped, or that the rape is minimised if they did not put up a sufficiently robust defence, in the opinion of the man in question.
And it is not confined to the US either; Google Operation Sapphire to see some of these same attitudes held by investigating members of the Met task force explicitly set up to tackle rapes and sexual assaults!
In the same vein, read the story of Sara Reedy in the US - the police did not believe her story, and she was falsely accused of both theft and false reporting.
http://
There still seems to be a body of opinion, often held by men in positions of influence, that it is somehow either the womans fault if they are raped, or that the rape is minimised if they did not put up a sufficiently robust defence, in the opinion of the man in question.
And it is not confined to the US either; Google Operation Sapphire to see some of these same attitudes held by investigating members of the Met task force explicitly set up to tackle rapes and sexual assaults!
In the same vein, read the story of Sara Reedy in the US - the police did not believe her story, and she was falsely accused of both theft and false reporting.
http://
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