I guess I will break my rule and respond though it's a waste of time. Now can you tell me how Paul Ryan's views on abortion have anything to do with Akin's comments? Did Ryan come out and say he supported Akin or his comments? Did he tell Akin to make those comments? Has Paul Ryan ever made comments like those? Ryan's views on abortion are not the issue the issue is trying to hold other's responsible for either the words or actions of another it doesn't matter if it's the left trying to hold Ryan somehow responsible for Akin's comment or the right trying to hold Obama responsible for the Romney killed my wife superpac ad. A person is only responsible for their words and actions not the words or actions of another Ryan may have similar views with Akin on abortion but that does not make Ryan responsible in any way shape or form for Akin's comments. I hope that cleared it up for you.
YES, he has. In word and deed.
What Romney Wants You to Forget
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were among the first Republicans to condemn Todd Akin, the GOP Senate candidate in Missouri who over the weekend suggested women’s bodies naturally thwart pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.” Maybe Romney and Ryan were anticipating the political backlash and maybe they were genuinely appalled at what Akin said. I really don’t know. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt—and to give them credit for reacting so quickly.
But the official campaign statement included a telling postscript: “a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.” The clarification was necessary because Ryan has opposed such exceptions in the past. As Newsweek’s Michelle Goldberg and Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald have pointed out, Ryan's record on abortion is extremely conservative, even by Republican standards. He has a perfect 100 rating from the National Right to Life Committee. And he’s lived up to that rating by, among other things, co-sponsoring a bill that declared “personhood” begins at fertilization—a legal standard that, if ever applied, could outlaw not just abortion but also in vitro fertilization, intrauterine devices, and some oral contraceptives. Akin was one of the other co-sponsors.
Ryan also co-sponsored (with Akin, again) a bill that would have modified the existing ban on federal funding of abortion. Presently, the law allows federal funds to support abortions in case of rape and incest. The bill would have narrowed the exceptions to cases of “forcible rape” and, for incest, cases involving minors. The legal implications of the proposed standard were unclear. But, as Nick Baumann of Mother Jones explained at the time, abortion rights advocates feared (reasonably) that victims raped while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, victims with diminished mental capacity, and victims of date rape might not be eligible if the new definition ever took effect. (For more background, see Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress.) The bill was so controversial that House Republicans withdrew that language.
Paul RyanÂ’s Surprising Positions on WomenÂ’s Health and Reproductive Rights
- Sponsored “Personhood” Bills to Outlaw ALL Abortions, Ban Common Forms of Contraception, and Prohibit In-Vitro Fertilization. Congressman Ryan co-sponsored several “personhood” bills that would give legal rights to a fetus starting at conception. The latest Ryan “personhood” bill, which Ryan and its other co-sponsors (all Republicans in the House of Representatives) called the “Sanctity of Human Life Act,” like his previous measures, declared that a fertilized egg “shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.” This would outlaw all abortion, some forms of contraception (including IUD’s and the pill), and in-vitro fertilization. This bill was introduced in the 2009-2010 Congress, failed to pass, and Congressman Ryan re-introduced the bill as late as January, 2011.
Such “Personhood bills” have been considered so radical that when placed on the ballot for a referendum vote of citizens, have failed to pass across the country — in states including Nevada, Oklahoma, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and even in ultra-Conservative Mississippi.
- Expresses Consistent Opposition to ALL Abortions — Even in Cases of Rape or Incest or Where the Mother’s Life is at Risk. Congressman Ryan has said repeatedly that he is against ALL abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, or where the Mother’s life is at risk. In July, 2010, he told the Weekly Standard, a Conservative publication, “I’m as pro-life as a person gets. You’re not going to have a truce. Judges are going to come up. Issues come up, they’re unavoidable, and I’m never going to not vote pro-life.”
- Cast 59 Votes Against Women’s Choice in Congress. Congressman Ryan has consistently sponsored legislation and has voted to ban all abortions. According to NARAL, “During his time in the House, Rep. Ryan has cast 59 votes on abortion and other reproductive rights issues. All of these votes were anti-choice.
- Supported Allowing Emergency Rooms to Deny Emergency Abortion Where the Woman is Likely to Die Without It. Congressman Ryan supported a highly controversial bill that many women called the “Let Women Die Act,” which would have allowed hospitals to refuse to provide emergency abortion care to a woman, even if her life is at severe risk.
- Wants to Overturn Roe v. Wade. Congressman Ryan strongly favors overturning Roe v. Wade. In his own words, he has compared the decision (which guaranteed a womanÂ’s right to choose and have control over her own reproductive health) to the Dred Scott Decision (the 1857 Supreme Court decision that allowed slavery to continue at that time).
- Sponsored Legislation For Forced Ultrasounds. Congressman Ryan co-sponsored the so-called “Ultrasound Informed Consent Act” (H.R.3805, 112th Cong. § 2 – in 2012) requiring a woman to undergo a forced ultrasound even if not medically necessary before receiving abortion services, and even if against the woman’s will.
- Voted Repeatedly to Deny Military Women Access to Abortion, Even if They Pay for It Themselves. Congressman Ryan repeatedly voted to deny women in the military – who defend our freedom overseas – the right to use their own, private funds for abortion care at military hospitals. (See e.g. the many amendments to ban availability of abortions to military women that Congressman Ryan voted for from 1999 through 2007, as listed in Note 9 to NARAL’s Report.)
- Sponsored Legislation and Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood. Congressman Ryan sponsored legislation and voted consistently to defund Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that provides low-cost preventive health care to millions of American women — and is the only health care provider that many women can afford or access.Representative Ryan and other Republicans have consistently misrepresented what percentage of the care provided by Planned Parenthood includes abortions. They have falsely claimed that over 90% of the care provided by Planned Parenthood consists of abortions — an assertion called blatantly FALSE by PolitiFact. In fact, only 3% of the health care services provided by Planned Parenthood involve abortions, and over 97% of services include preventive health care for women — including such services as breast cancer screenings, procedures to prevent cervical cancer, ovarian cancer treatment, Pap Smears and HPV Tests, pelvic exams, female infertility treatment, and treatments for infections.
These are just a few of Congressman RyanÂ’s consistent positions against womenÂ’s health and reproductive choice. For a more detailed list, see NARALÂ’s report on Congressman Paul Ryan.