Mitt Romney’s campaign on Sunday quickly condemned a comment from Republican Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.) claiming that pregnancy from forcible rape was rare and said the presumptive GOP nominee and his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would not take steps to block abortions in cases of rape.
“Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape,” said Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg in a statement.
The campaign’s response came after Akin, the Republican party’s Senate candidate in the key swing state of Missouri, said that “legitimate rape” rarely resulted in pregnancy during an interview with a St. Louis television station.
Akin, in the interview, was asked to explain his opposition to abortion for pregnancies caused by rape.“It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” he said.
Akin said later, in a statement, that he “misspoke,” claiming that his comments did not “reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year.”
He stood by his opposition to abortion, saying “I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.”
Romney campaign criticizes Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks on rape, abortion
