But I think Mourdock's inherent point that a fetus conceived through rape is just as much of a fetus as one conceived in a loving relationship, and if brought to term can be just as cute a baby or just as wonderful a person, is entirely valid. Of course I believe that the woman's right to get rid of this additional violation of her body, if that's how she perceives it, should take preference, and in that I strongly differ from Mourdock.

I do not agree that "saying a rape baby is what God intended IS saying that God planned for the rape". I'm not actually sure (no, Joel, that is not an invitation to come and explain me your view on it again) if there's any logically consistent way in which one can reconcile the notion of a God who interferes in any way in the human world, with the existence of "evil" (however one wants to define "evil", let's not get into too many philosophical debates at the same time here...); you always end up with arbitrary judgements of what you believe God is involved in, and what not, and any beneficial act that you believe God is involved in may ultimately have negative consequences that you presumably do not believe God intended. In short, there's always contradictions, or at least that's how it seems to me as a non-believer.

But taking it as a given that Mourdock, like tons and tons of other people, does have such a belief in God, it seems quite obvious to me that he *would* believe in God intending the conception, but not the rape; in other words, that he believes God decided to make the evil act of rape have some (potentially, depending on your viewpoint) positive consequence.

I mean, honestly, people. Does anyone seriously think Mourdock is some kind of psychopath who gets off on the thought of women being raped, and would claim that such a thing is divinely sanctioned? I don't think I'm assuming much when I answer my own question with a resounding no. Then what is all the outcry even about? His stance on abortion in case of rape is absolutely problematic, and people should absolutely vote against him for propagating that stance. But they should not vote against him for this statement, nor for some stupid delusion that he supposedly would have suggested that rape is good or acceptable. He didn't.