Hey girl, Have you heard! It's not just me who wants you to have your rapists baby, it's all of the GOP. Hooyah!! xoxo Paul Ryan

Romney, the GOP platform and why this isn’t about Todd Akin

Hey girl, Have you heard! It's not just me who wants you to have your rapists baby, it's all of the GOP. Hooyah!! xoxo Paul Ryan

Image via Choose Ryan Lose Choice.

As Todd Akin released a really terrible video apology this morning about his “legitimate rape” remarks and Republicans (including Romney) try to distance themselves from the Missouri senatorial candidate, other striking facts have come to light that reminds us what this issue is really about. Just yesterday, the GOP platform committee drafted a revision of the Republican Party platform supporting a “human life amendment” that does not specify exceptions for rape or incest:

Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

An amendment like this wouldn’t just stop there. Jodi Jacobsen at RH Reality Check gets to the heart of it:

Let’s be very, very clear that such an amendment–which Mitt Romney has said unequivocally he would sign–would not only criminalize abortions of any kind for any reason, but also would outlaw many forms of contraception, in-vitro fertilization, and treatment of pregnant women with life-threatening conditions such as cancer. Moreover, it would also criminalize miscarriage.

Last week, a pregnant teenager from the Dominican Republic died after being refused chemotherapy until it was too late because of the country’s abortion ban. Do we really think we’re that far from this reality? When 55% of women of reproductive age live in states hostile to abortion in the U.S.? When so many states already have bans that don’t include an exception for rape or incest?

This is not about Todd Akin. This is about a presidential candidate who touted the endorsement of the same doctor who told Akin the bunk science he parroted this weekend. It’s about a VP pick who worked closely with Akin and so many other senators on bills that would put women’s health in direct danger. But mostly, it’s about an entire political party that is hell bet on taking away all of your reproductive rights.

Join the Conversation