A Republican Missouri legislator apologized Friday for using the phrase “consensual rape” during a debate over a new, restrictive antiabortion bill. [Everything you need to know about the abortion ban news]The 30-year veteran of the Cape Girardeau Police Department then touched on his experience handling rape cases. Most of them were date rapes or consensual rapes, which were all terrible.”In discussing kinds of rapes he has encountered as a law enforcement official, state Rep. Barry Hovis spoke of the vast majority of rape being date rape and "consensual rape." “There is no such thing, no such thing as consensual rape,” she said to applause from the chamber. Hovis’s remarks recalled a controversial comment made in 2012 by Todd Akin, a former Missouri congressman, that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy.

Source: Washington Post May 17, 2019 18:45 UTC