A Virginia Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives said recently at an event in the state that she’s not sure women get pregnant from rape because the crime is committed “quickly” and therefore doesn’t lead to conception.

Yesli Vega, who is running against incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, made the remarks during a campaign stop before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which gave women a right to abortion, according to Axios.

Vega was asked what she thought Congress should do if Roe was no longer the law of the land:

After expressing support for new state-level restrictions, she said, “The left will say, ‘Well what about in cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer. I became a police officer in 2011. I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the young woman became pregnant.”

A member of the audience then inquired:

“I’ve actually heard that it’s harder for a woman to get pregnant if she’s been raped. Have you heard that?”

In response, Vega had this to say:

“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. 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.”

When Vega was later asked about her comments, she refused to walk them back or retract them, saying:

“I’m a mother of two, I’m fully aware of how women get pregnant.”

If she’s so “aware” of how women get pregnant, then why would she even give voice to a bogus claim that pregnancy may not actually occur during rape?

Republicans seem determined to try and downplay the terrible impact of Roe no longer being in place. That alone suggests they need to be defeated at the ballot box come November if we want to try and restore this country to one of rights that aren’t granted and then stripped away years later.

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