Yesterday, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) announced he will continue his bid for the senate seat currently held by democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill. Mr. Akin is doing the right thing. He was legitimately elected over his republican opponents in the Missouri state primary, held on August 7th.

GOP leaders - Missouri Senator Roy Blunt and former Senators Ashcroft, Talent, Danforth and Bond among them - have urged Mr. Akin to step down after his "legitimate rape” faux pas.

This is somewhat ironic and at the same time puzzling. Consider the following:

• The GOP is rife with people that hold similar beliefs to those displayed by Mr. Akin.  Just yesterday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told a reporter: "I have never heard of a girl getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest."  He later stated his comments were taken out of context but maintained his defense of Akin. Why not ask for his resignation?
  
  
• Mr. Akin did apologize for “misspeaking”.  Hesaid he was trying to refer to "forcible rape” instead of “legitimate rape”. What hereally meant to say was:
   
  “It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate forcible rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”
   
  Of course this change wouldn’t have made his statement any less ignorant. Despite his later mea culpa and acknowledgement of the fact that women do actually get pregnant after being raped-it’s hard to believe I am actually writing this in 2012-it’s apparent that Mr. Akin spoke his mind during the earlier interview. He told the reporter what he believes and frankly, what many of his GOP peers and constituents believe.
   
  In fact, the concept of “forcible rape” (as opposed to consensual rape?) was introduced in a bill co-sponsored by Mr. Akin and Rep. Paul Ryan, with the support of a vast majority of Republican house members, before it was scrapped after protests from women’s rights groups and democrats. Mr. Ryan co-sponsored 38 anti-abortion measures and Akin co-sponsored every abortion bill supported by Ryan. They are virtual identical twins when it comes to this subject. 
   
• The GOP honors the “sanctity of the vote” and supports strong voter ID laws but wants to force out a legitimately elected candidate in order to replace him by a party-appointed surrogate? That would surely be an insult to voters and treading the “sanctity of the vote” principle, wouldn’t it?

The truth is the GOP doesn’t really have a problem with what Mr. Akin said. They have a problem with the consequences. Vice-presidential candidate PaulRyan and Mr. Akin co-sponsored legislation (H.R.3) redefining rape (introducing the “forcible rape” moniker) andthe Sanctity of Human Life Act, (H.R. 212) which would, if passed, at least force changes to current in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) procedures to prevent them from becoming a crime. Again, Republicans like Ryan, Akin and King think very much alike but GOP leadership certainly understands it can’t win this election without the support of women. So Akin, who committed the “crime” of openly saying what he thinks, had to be declared persona non grata and outrage had to be feigned.
 
For the record, H.R. 3, the “No taxpayer funding for abortion act”, doesn’t outlaw abortion. It aims to take away tax-payer funding for abortions other than in very limited exceptions (rape, incest) described in the bill. This means that for women who can afford it, it’s perfectly fine (and legal) to make their own decisions, while women with less means have no choice but to have the baby or break the law and risk their life by getting a cheap, illegal abortion.
 
This bill is really an economic decision, another blow to the poor under the disguise of beliefs and principles. Even when a woman was raped under circumstances covered by this proposed law, would her pregnancy magically stall until a court established the guilt of the accused rapist? It’s preposterous and incredibly damaging to women’s rights.
 
In Western Europe, which has more liberal abortion policies, the actual rates of abortion, you guessed it, are significantly lower than in the United States. This is the result of universal health care, which mostly includes contraception, sex education, and a complete absence of hilarious “abstinence only” programs. Yes, education works. (See figure 1)
 
The fact that Mr. Akin was a little too honest and open about what many in the GOP believe, support and/or condone is now causing the call for his resignation by GOP leadership. Missouri is after all their best chance to pick up a senate majority and this is (understandably) more important than supporting Mr. Akin.
 
We can conclude that – regardless of his misguided, dangerous, and troubled beliefs - Mr. Akin has been more principled and consequent than GOP leaders like Mr. Ryan and Mr. Romney. His decision to stay in the race is perfectly legitimate. He talked to his consultant, taped some apology TV-spots, blames the liberal media for wanting him to drop out (not a word about his GOP peers), is playing the role of the persecuted, and is already asking for donations on his website. Mr. Akin is a pro and knows very well how to cater best to his constituents: repent; receive redemption; crusade against pretended persecution. It’s really that simple and easily accomplished in less than 72 hours.
 
Nationally, the GOP is struggling with a huge problem. To keep their current constituency happy they have to keep making decisions based on a perceived monopoly on beliefs, patriotism, morals, and principles. The problem with beliefs - like those held by Mr. Akin - is that they are often neither based on facts or rationale, nor supported by scientific evidence.

Indeed, Mr. Romney himself is living proof of decision making based on ever-changing beliefs:






Figure 1 [Source: Guttmacher Institute]