Take a trip down memory lane to those awkward years in middle school. One day, boys and girls were separated and shown a video explaining puberty and sex, followed by a discussion. For Mo. Rep. Todd Akin, he must have missed this day in school, or worse, was never taught it through abstinence-only education.

On Sunday, Akin surprised and caused waves in America with his opinions that if a woman is “legitimately raped,” her body will not let her become pregnant. Immediately, social media exploded with many men and women commenting on his so-called medical knowledge. Despite the rage, Akin is still in the Mo. Senate race.

This is not the first time a male politician has been deemed clueless about female biology. Men who legislate for bills that involve abortions often stammer and in one case in Texas, the male sponsor of a bill involving transvaginal ultrasound admitted he was not aware of what he was trying to legislate, according to the Huffington Post. Rush Limbaugh received flak for accusing Sandra Fluke of “having sex so frequently that she can’t afford all the birth control pills that she needs.” In reality, women take birth control pills once per day, regardless if they have sex or not.

Akin revealed that one of the major sources for his claim was from Dr. John Willke, a general practitioner and former president of the National Right to Life committee, according to the New York Times. He first articulated this belief among many other false beliefs in 1985. As a man who treats many women’s health issues, it is disturbing that Dr. Willke and other similar doctors would put their own opinions ahead of the real goal, giving women the treatments they need.

On Tuesday, the GOP announced a tough anti-abortion platform which bars abortions in all cases, including rape and incest, according to CNN. If this would ever happen to come to fruition, women would be pushed back to a status not seen in centuries. Often unbeknownst to many conservatives, the first recorded abortion occurred in 1550 BCE. For centuries women have been taking control of their own bodies by using mixtures of herbs and leaves, fasting, bloodletting and many other techniques to abort a fetus.

The argument that Akin is making is impossible to consider as it is simply untrue. As President Obama said, “Rape is rape.” A rapist’s sperm is no different than a lover’s sperm and unless there is a medical complication, a woman will get pregnant if the sex was not protected. Furthermore, Akin must have been confused as earlier this year, every House republican and 16 democrats voted for a bill that would have redefined rape in federal statutes to be “forcible rape,” according to www.electoral-vote.com.

Either way, rape is never wanted and should never be questioned. Many women get abortions for a variety of reasons, and one of the most sensitive issues is being raped. Now, men like Akin are challenging women’s own rights over control of her body by saying maybe she was not legitimately raped, if there ever was such a thing.

Akin must assume that if a woman got pregnant from rape, she must have enjoyed it, which is by far one of the worst things a person could ever do to another person. Akin will most likely fade into obscurity as many conservatives are calling on Akin to withdraw from the election, but this new war on women must be stopped.