In a press release last November, Paul Ryan talked up Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo), now known as the “legitimate rape” guy:
“Todd Akin has been a great asset to the House Budget Committee. His principled approach to fiscal responsibility is exactly the kind of leadership America needs and I appreciate his hard work.”
TPM on the Ryan-Akin abortion positions, which are pretty much the same:
Ryan and Akin largely agree when it comes to abortion rights. Both believe abortion should be illegal even in the case of rape and incest. Both were co-sponsors of H.R. 3, the 2011 bill that would have limited the federal abortion coverage exemption only to victims of “forcible rape” and women whose physical health was in danger from her pregnancy, closing a supposed loophole in health-of-the-mother exemptions conservatives have been crowing about for years.
In 2011, Paul Ryan also co-sponsored a personhood amendment along with Todd Akin and other Republicans. If enacted, this bill would “provide that human life shall be deemed to begin with fertilization”, which would likely make birth control illegal.
