Prof. Goodwin Publishes Op-Ed on Rep. Akin's Comment on "Legitimate Rape"

Professor Michele Goodwin published an op-ed in a Chronicle of Higher Education blog entitled "'Legitimate Rape'—A Dangerous Fallacy," which discusses the recent comment made by Missouri politician Todd Akin that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy. Goodwin explains the dangerous implications of such a suggestion and how it fits into a broader war on women's reproductive rights and "marks an important opportunity to reflect on the political manipulation of women's reproduction." The article ties in Goodwin's other scholarship, including her forthcoming book, Policing the Womb: The New Cultural Politics of Reproduction (Cambridge University Press), which empirically details how a "predominantly male electorate is shaping the political and regulatory discourse on women's reproduction" and the negative consequences of this movement. These consequences include, among others, fetal protection laws that are vague, overly broad, and can be interpreted to criminalize any activity that could harm a fetus. Goodwin notes that this contemporary political movement to restrict women's reproductive rights is reminiscent of earlier eras, in which "socially unfit" women were forcibly sterilized by the state.