By Maya Dusenbery • @mayadusenbery • 10 years ago

Quote of the Day: Maine state lawmaker once argued that if abortion is legal, men should be able to rape women

Rep. Lockman

State Rep. Lawrence Lockman (Photo credit: WABI)

But don’t worry–he regrets saying it.

Rep. Lawrence Lockman is a relatively new state representative in Maine, but he’s been involved in local politics for awhile. During that time, he’s amassed quite the record of saying awful, ignorant things about everything from LGBT rights to the AIDS epidemic. This quote on abortion from when Lockman was a director of the Pro Life Education Association back in 1990 might take the cake though. 

Via Raw Story:

If a woman has (the right to abortion), why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.

After a liberal blogger helpfully pulled together Lockman’s greatest hits, Lockman released a statement saying, “I have always been passionate about my beliefs, and years ago I said things that I regret.” Reassured yet?

Maya DusenberyMaya Dusenbery thinks advocating for rape miiiiiiight be one of those things you can’t really take back.

St. Paul, MN

Maya Dusenbery is executive director in charge of editorial at Feministing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (HarperOne, March 2018). She has been a fellow at Mother Jones magazine and a columnist at Pacific Standard magazine. Her work has appeared in publications like Cosmopolitan.com, TheAtlantic.com, Bitch Magazine, as well as the anthology The Feminist Utopia Project. Before become a full-time journalist, she worked at the National Institute for Reproductive Health. A Minnesota native, she received her B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. After living in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Atlanta, she is currently based in the Twin Cities.

Maya Dusenbery is an executive director of Feministing and author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm on sexism in medicine.

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