Richmond, VA – In an audio recording, Yesli Vega, the radical Republican nominee for VA-07, channeled her inner Todd Akin by downplaying the possibility of someone getting pregnant through rape. 

Vega 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." Then when asked if it’s harder for women to get pregnant if she’s been raped she said, “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."

The Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker released the following statement in response to extremist Yesli Vega’s comments. 

“I am stunned by Yesli Vega’s comments. They are deeply hateful, offensive, and an insult to all rape victims. Either Vega doesn’t care about a woman who has been viciously assaulted or she failed every science class or both. It is beyond anyone who has a shred of caring or knowledge that someone could be so ignorant of the trauma and pain these victims endured. As a human being, let alone a law enforcement officer, you would think Vega would know the real emotional and physical impacts caused by rape. Vega’s indefensible comments have no place in Congress.

“The contrast could not be more clear between Yesli Vega and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, who is a staunch defender of a woman’s right to choose and the fundamental right to privacy.”

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