Politics and Women II: Tom Smith

Tom Smith is the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania.  Today he said something to a reporter that he might regret.  He said he was opposed to abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.  The reporter asked him, in a hypothetical situation, how he would approach a woman in his family if she found herself in that situation.   His reponse:

Asked by a reporter how he would counsel a daughter or granddaughter who had been impregnated by rape, Smith said: "I lived something similar to that with my own family. She chose life, and I commend her for that. . . . Don't get me wrong; it wasn't rape."

Pressed as to what he was talking about, Smith responded: "Having a baby out of wedlock." After that, he seemed to struggle to articulate what he meant.

"That's similar to rape?" a reporter asked.

"No, no, no," said Smith, who was referring to a daughter's decision to have a child outside marriage. Then he added, "But, well, put yourself in a father's position. Yes, I mean, it is similar."

Pressed later about whether he was saying that having a baby while unmarried was analogous to having a baby as a result of rape, Smith said, "I never said that. I didn't even come close to that." ("No abortions for rape victims, says GOP Senate candidate," by Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer 08/27/12

You can listen to the exchange yourself, via a link on Keystone Progress.