Republican Congressional candidate Yesli Vega is under fire on Monday after controversial comments she made during a campaign stop last month about rape and pregnancy resurfaced in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

“The left will say, ‘what about cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer…I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the woman became pregnant,” Vega can be heard saying.

Vega was then asked, according to Axios, “I’ve actually heard that it’s harder for a woman to get pregnant if she’s been raped. Have you heard that?”

“Well, maybe because there’s so much going on in the body. I don’t know. I haven’t, you know, seen any studies. But if I’m processing what you’re saying, it wouldn’t surprise me,” the Virginia Republican replied.

Woof. Virginia GOP candidate Yesli Vega downplays pregnancies from rape in new audio.

“The left will say, ‘what about cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer…I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the woman became pregnant.” pic.twitter.com/73uYNcfURw

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) June 27, 2022

“Because it’s not something that’s happening organically. You’re forcing it. The individual, the male, is doing it as quickly — it’s not like, you know — and so I can see why there is truth to that. It’s unfortunate,” she continued.

Vega won the GOP primary to run as the party’s candidate in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District against incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). The district has historically been a swing district, but Joe Biden won it by 6 points in 2020.

Vega responded to Axios’ story on her comments with a statement saying, “I’m a mother of two, I’m fully aware of how women get pregnant.

Vega’s comments were quickly compared to those made by former Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin. Akin lost his Senate bid in Missouri in 2021 after he told a local radio station that “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” when asked about pregnancy resulting from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” he said.

The post GOP Congressional Candidate Doubts Likelihood of Pregnancy From Rape in Newly Revealed Audio first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/3Ugso7A