I Doubt Akin Knows or Cares

Oh, please. I doubt Akin is even aware of earlier beliefs. He got his notion from retired physician J.C. Willke, who has been an anti-abortion activist for many decades. Actually the rape theory goes a lot further back than the Nazis.

That isn't the point, anyway. Many in the anti-abortion crowd are against exceptions for abortion bans because they believe many women will "game" the system and get abortions claiming rape or mental illness or whatever exception to a ban is; in other words, exceptions are loopholes big enough for women and doctors to exploit. The "rape as contraceptive" argument is just a smokescreen for their belief women will lie about their situation to get a legal abortion. And in fact they did, especially women with money, pre-Roe, as long as they had doctors willing to perform them. It only pointed to the absolute absurdity of the exceptions not to mention they were insulting to women as they implied women had to be "virtuous" to get a legal abortion.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates continue to increase and the economy remains stuck in neutral. The abortion distraction is working like a charm.