Missouri Congressman Todd Akin shoots himself in foot with "legitimate rape" comments

Congressman Todd Akin, a Republican from Missouri's 2nd district, is running for the United States Senate against Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Akin appeared on KTVI this morning and went on to make a full of himself.  The following excerpt comes from Talking Points Memo.  It's not pretty at all.  In fact, if you don't want to read what he said this morning, I would avert my eyes now.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview posted Sunday. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Akin said that even in the worst-case scenario — when the supposed natural protections against unwanted pregnancy fail — abortion should still not be a legal option for the rape victim.

“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something,” Akin said. “I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

Akin, at this point, has already shot himself in the foot with his comments.  Even if he apologized for being an idiot, it's not going to get him much votes from female voters.

Even an idiot knows that anyone can get pregnant if they have sexual intercourse without a condom.  I wonder where in the hell Akin was when he was taking health classes.

Akin's congressional bio states that he graduated from the "Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he earned a B.S. in Management Engineering."

In making his comments, Akin pissed off several conservatives.

TPM reports that Akin has issued a statement in response to all the criticism.  However, as Josh notes, Akin didn't really address what drew the fire to begin with.

Todd Akin is unfit to serve and should resign from Congress.