If you want to use begs as in "begs an answer to" then use "begs an answer to".

"The term "begging the question", as this is usually phrased, originated in the 16th century as a mistranslation of the Latin petitio principii, which actually translates as "assuming the initial point"."

Citation: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2290

"[Aristotle] specified thirteen fallacies, one of which ... is "assuming the original conclusion". This amounts to arguing that "P, therefore P" ... Some medieval translator decided to translate Aristotle's "assuming the conclusion" into petitio principii. In classical Latin, petitio meant "... a request, petition". But in post-classical Latin petitio was also used to mean "a postulate" ... And principium meant "a beginning, commencement, origin" ... "the original point". From the 14th century onwards, many writers in English used the Latin term to discuss this rhetorical technique ... But starting in the late 16th century, the English phrase "to beg the question" began to sneak into use as an vulgar alternative to petitio principii."

A translation from Greek into a Latin phrase, using a word with multiple meanings (and choosing a meaning that is now rather obscure, especially to English speakers who know the word "petition"); and some who translated it into English chose the more common meaning and got the wrong phrase, quite distinct from the original.

Anyone who says that "begging the question" means "assuming the conclusion" is clearly, clearly wrong.

:-)