As I looked at the 180-degree views of Mars, I marvelled at how far humankind has progressed. That was until I hit the "news" tab.
"Missouri Republican says pregnancy unlikely in 'legitimate rape.'"
Boom.
Unfortunately, I have become accustomed to women being portrayed as gold-diggers in the endless stream of reality television that pours across America. I have even adjusted to the slippery slope of young female stars solely talking about boyfriends, boob jobs, marriage and babies. While Hollywood's gauntlet of influence is vast, it's the politicians that hold the key to securing our basic rights.
In his quest for a Senate seat, congressman Todd Akin was asked about a heated issue in the U.S. election run-up - abortion. When probed by a reporter if he thought rape victims should also be denied termination of a pregnancy, his answer was simply: pregnancy caused by "legitimate rape" is rare.
According to Akin's biology, this would mean that each year approximately 32,000 women in the U.S. didn't turn on their super-powered ovaries during an attack. Using his same logic, in those cases, which are reported by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, those women just didn't hate the experience enough.
It's not Akin's staggering biology that really shakes my core or his "legitimate rape" combo; this should come as little surprise. Akin and the Republican Party's nominee for vice president, Paul Ryan, have spent taxpayers' money trying to limit federally funded abortions to victims of "forcible rape."
Nor is it that in an age of rovers on Mars, some people share the similar beliefs of our ancestors 262 years ago - that women have these mystical powers to manipulate men. Oh, and we're out to get you. These labels were used to burn alive an estimated 60,000 women in the 15th to 18th centuries.
What really grabs at me is that this uproar created by Akin's comments is being dubbed a women's issue by media.
"Republicans have a big problem nationally with women voters." "This could cost the women vote."
Really! That's it! If somebody stood up and said slavery only exists when the people in chains really want it, I would expect everybody to be outraged. The only thing "women" about this is that it deals with a woman's body.
This is a call for humankind and what sort of civilization we want to live in - whether it be here on Earth or one day on Mars.
