"So that forcible rape language meant nothing to you at the time?" Mr. Ryan was asked.
Asked about a bill that Mr. Ryan co-sponsored with other Republicans, including Mr. Akin, to prohibit federal funding of abortion except in certain cases including "forcible rape" – language that women's health advocates said attempted to narrow the definition of rape, and was eventually stricken – he pointed out that 16 Democrats also voted for the 2011 bill.
The "forcible rape" language was removed after an outcry.
The new version of H.R. 3, which came out on Monday, makes four main clarifications or changes, including removing the forcible rape language, as Jessica Arons, director of the women's health and rights program at the Center for American Progress, notes.
"So that forcible-rape language meant nothing to you at the time?" Jon Delano, of KDKA in Pittsburgh, asked Congressman Paul Ryan. "Rape is rape.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin August 22, 2012 "So that forcible-rape language meant nothing to you at the time?" Jon Delano, of KDKA in Pittsburgh, asked Congressman Paul Ryan. "Rape is rape.
Some are hard-hitting, like a Pittsburgh station that asked him to clarify what a bill he co-sponsored meant by including the language "forcible rape".
Enrique Knell, a spokesperson for the CYFD, told the Huffington Post that Martinez, a Republican, asked the department to remove the word "forcible" from the language on Wednesday night.
At the same time, Mr. Ryan was a co-sponsor last year, along with Mr. Akin and other House Republicans, of a bill that seemed intended to narrow the rape exception, inserting the language "forcible rape".
After heavy criticism from advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org, Emily's list and Twitter's #dearjohn campaign, the language of "forcible" rape will be kept out of the GOP's proposed bill.
