Statement by Congressional Candidate Rob Zerban on 'Rape Easy' Comments

Press Release

The following statement can be attributed to Congressional candidate Rob Zerban from Wisconsin's 1st District:

"Just two months ago, Paul Ryan headlined a fundraiser for Roger Rivard's re-election campaign. Ryan's now backing away from that endorsement, but he can't back off their shared ideology. Paul Ryan has called rape just another "method of conception" and co-sponsored a bill with Todd Akin to redefine rape. Ryan can't duck responsibility for his extreme votes and views against women's most basic rights."

Background:

Rivard Quote on how "some girls rape easy:"

"[My father] also told me one thing, 'If you do (have premarital sex), just remember, consensual sex can turn into rape in an awful hurry,' " Rivard said. "Because all of a sudden a young lady gets pregnant and the parents are madder than a wet hen and she's not going to say, 'Oh, yeah, I was part of the program.' All that she has to say or the parents have to say is it was rape because she's underage. And he just said, 'Remember, Roger, if you go down that road, some girls,' he said, 'they rape so easy.' What the whole genesis of it was, it was advice to me, telling me, 'If you're going to go down that road, you may have consensual sex that night and then the next morning it may be rape.' So the way he said it was, 'Just remember, Roger, some girls, they rape so easy. It may be rape the next morning.'"
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-legislator-criticized-for-comments-on-rape-hj76f4k-173587961.html

Fundraiser for Roger Rivard featuring Congressman Paul Ryan (August 9, 2012)
http://polkcountyrepublicans.com/polk-county-politics/fundraiser-for-roger-rivard-featuring-congressman-paul-ryan/

Paul Ryan on rape being a form of conception:
"I'm proud of my Pro-Life record. I've always adopted the idea…the position that the method of conception does not change the definition of life."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-slansky-/paul-ryan-said-something-_b_1832377.html

Todd Akin:
"From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."
http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/rep-todd-akin-says-women-can-shut-down-post-rape

Source