Why Could Women Be More Likely To Get Pregnant From Rape Than Consensual Sex?

What could possibly explain why women are more likely to get pregnant from rape than consensual sex? "Rapists do not wait to be chosen, rapists choose," the research team points out.

"As such, within the limits of opportunity, rapists would be able to target women bearing cues [of fertility]."

Wait, what? Does that mean that all men have the ability to detect which women are at their most fertile? The researchers think so. "We propose, based on this growing body of research, that all men — rapists and non-rapists — have the capacity to "read" fecundity cues and pursue the most attractive/fecund women that they can. However, since rapists circumvent the problem of female choice, while non-rapists must confront it, it is plausible that the average instance of rape occurs with a more attractive/fecund woman than the average instance [of consensual sex]."

How Women's Behavior Alters During Ovulation

While there is no reliable scientific indication that women's libido rises during ovulation and the days leading up to it, studies have indicated that there are detectable cues that a woman is within her fertile period. Women's bodies become slightly more symmetrical when they are fertile, their gait is considered "sexier", and their skin becomes slightly paler. Research even shows that a woman's voice is more high-pitched when she is close to ovulation. Research further shows that women are more likely to wear revealing clothing and engage in flirtatious behavior when they are fertile — whether or not they themselves are aware that they are ovulating. 

Only would-be rapists, who are apparently willing to push themselves on a woman whether or not she wants to have sex with them, however, could freely act upon this animal instinct to detect — presumably subconsciously — that a women is fertile. 

"...Due to the rapist's ability to transcend the limitations of female choice, the average episode of rape might be more likely to occur with an ovulating woman than the average episode of consensual sex," the study authors conclude, adding: "Even a marginal advantage in this domain could pay large reproductive dividends."

Todd Akin, in other words, couldn't be more wrong. Women, rather than having some magical mechanism that might prevent them from becoming pregnant after rape, are more vulnerable to being violated by men already willing to engage in crimes when they are at their most fertile.