Congressman Paul Ryan, while discussing rape, the Todd Akin imbroglio, and his “pro-life policies,” told a reporter that rape is just a “method of conception,” totally ignoring the woman who was raped. Ryan, like the GOP platform, and most Republican members of Congress, oppose abortion in every case, including rape and incest. Meanwhile, today, Mitt Romney, with whom Ryan disagrees, said abortion should be legal if the woman’s “health and life†are in danger.
Noting that “Romney has argued that abortion should only be limited to rape, incest, or life of the mother,” Think Progress today said Romney “appears to have expanded his support for abortion.”
Ryan, as you can tell from his comments, is embedded in a wholly paternalistic view of society, one in which women are designed for the bearing children, and their needs are unimportant.
Ryan has earned a 0% rating from NARAL and supports extending the 14th Amendment to the unborn, but not to same-sex couples. Ryan would also ban same-sex couples from being able to adopt.
Transcript of the Ryan interview via Little Green Footballs:
Interviewer: Abortion now… something we’re talking about and I think our viewers want to know exactly where you stand, specifically, you’re pro-life, Catholic…
Ryan: Oh yeah, yeah.
Interviewer: But specifically where you stand when it comes to rape, and when it comes to the issue of, should it be legal for a woman to be able to get an abortion if she’s…
Ryan: Yeah, well, so, I’m very proud of my pro-life record, and I’ve always adopted the idea, the position that the method of conception doesn’t change the definition of life.
But let’s remember, I’m doing the Romney-Ryan ticket, and the President makes policy. The President, in this case, the future President Mitt Romney, has exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother, which is a vast improvement of where we are right now.