Steve King Never Heard of Anyone Getting Pregnant by Statutory Rape
Rep. Todd Akin appeared to be on his own in the controversy over his abortion and rape comments, but fellow Congressman Steve King has also put his foot in it after saying he's never heard of a woman getting pregnant because of statutory rape or incest. Like Akin, Iowa's King supported a House bill in 2011 that would have banned federal funding for abortion and would not have included an exemption for just those sorts of cases. In an interview on Monday, he suggested such an exemption wouldn't be necessary because he's never heard of such a thing happening. "Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way,” King told KMEG-TV Monday, “and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter.”
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Obviously there are countless documented instances of that happening, had King ever bothered to look. In fact, according to some reports, at least half of teenage pregnancies are caused by adult men. Still, King defended Akin saying he's "a strong Christian man" that everyone should look his voting record and "what did he stand for?" Good point. Maybe people should take a closer look at what Steve King stands for, too.
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UPDATE: A spokesperson for Rep. King emailed us this statement last night:
"I am the grandfather of four granddaughters and one grandson. No one has a stronger pro-life record than I do. No one has a stronger record in Congress for punishing rapists than I do. I believe sexual assault is a disgusting, violent crime and those who commit these terrible acts should be severely punished to the fullest extent of the law. The liberal press and their allies have again twisted my words. I never said, nor do I believe, a woman, including minors, cannot get pregnant from rape, statutory rape or incest. Suggesting otherwise is ridiculous, shameful, disgusting and nothing but an attempt to falsely define who I am. I have never heard of and categorically reject the so-called medical theory that launched this controversy. The people who promote these vicious attacks are paid to create lies and to assassinate the character of elected officials."
For the record, we did not accuse him of promoting the same discredited theories as Rep. Akin. We merely reprinted his on-the-record quote that he had not heard of the circumstance happening as described. TPM has a transcript of the question he was asked, and his full answer:
REPORTER: You support the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that would provide federal funding for abortions to a person that has been forcefully raped. But what if someone isn’t forcibly raped and for example, a 12-year-old who gets pregnant? Should she have to bring this baby to term?
KING: Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way and I’d be open to hearing discussion about that subject matter. Generally speaking it’s this: that there millions of abortions in this country every year. Millions of them are paid for at least in part by taxpayers. I think it’s immoral for us to compel conscientious objecting taxpayers to fund abortion through the federal government, or any other government for that matter. So that’s my stand. And if there are exceptions there, then bring me those exceptions let’s talk about it. In the meantime it’s wrong for us to compel pro-life people to pay taxes to fund abortion.
