You may have seen this image floating around on Facebook or
news sites, but what we should really find out is: who are these men making horribly inaccurate and offensive claims
about women’s bodies?
Sure, we all know who Rick Santorum and Bill O’Reilly are,
but how could any doctor make these claims?
Here's how...
Dr. John Willke
Willke's the president of Life Issues Institute which provides resources for pro-life groups. He also served 10 years as president of the National Right to Life Committee and founded the International Right to Life Federation. He's an author, physician, radio personality, and according to Life Issues, an "expert in human sexuality."Seen as a pro-life hero, Willke's published books such as Abortion, Questions and Answers: Why Can't We Love Them Both, the anti-choice Handbook on Abortion and Abortion and Slavery, History Repeats which attempts to compare Roe v. Wade to Dred Scott v. Sanford.
Following Willke's lead in that book, Santorum argued last year that Roe v. Wade denies "personhood" to fetuses the same way Dred Scott denied "personhood" to African Americans. That idea and others by Willke have had a lasting impact on the anti-choice community and are behind many of the inaccurate rape/pregnancy/abortion claims we hear from right-wing politicians including Rep. Todd Akin's recent "forcible rape" claims.
So when Willke says, "[Rape] is a traumatic thing. She's, shall we say, she's uptight... She is frightened, tight, and so on. And sperm, if deposited in her vagina, are less likely to be able to fertilize. The tubes are spastic," we now know a little more about where he's coming from.
Dr. Richard Dobbins
Dobbins is actually a psychologist. Well, a psychologist with a background in Christian ministry. The Richard D. Dobbins Institute of Ministry and his own website outline his way of "making the supernatural practical in our lives" and focuses on strengthening marriage and family by undergoing Christian counseling and ministry.
He's the pastor at the church he founded and is a practicing licensed psychologist.
So why is Dobbins qualified to make medical claims about women's bodies? This is as much a mystery as women's rape-detecting reproductive organs.
