Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, the conservative Republican U.S.
Senate candidate, said in a television interview that it is "really
rare" for women to become pregnant when they are raped.
Akin, a six-term congressman running against
incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, was asked in an interview that aired
Sunday on St. Louis television station KTVI if there were any circumstances in
which he would support a woman's decision to have an abortion.
Akin, who has said he's Missouri's most
conservative congressman, indicated there may be an exception to his stance against
abortion. But, when asked if he supported abortions for women who have been
raped, Akin said: "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," Akin said of a rape
victim's chances of becoming pregnant.
He also said he would prefer that punishment for
rape be focused on the rapist and not "attacking the child."
Akin was interviewed on KTVI's "The Jaco
Report," and also talked about numerous campaign issues, such as voter ID
laws, the economy and Medicare. KTVI said the interview was conducted earlier
in the week.
Akin spokesman Steve Taylor declined to comment
Sunday, saying he had not yet seen the interview. The video has been posted on
the station's website.
McCaskill, who is seeking a second term, said in
an emailed statement Sunday that she found the comments "offensive."
"It is beyond comprehension that someone can
be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by
rape," McCaskill said. "The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about
the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive."
McCaskill also quickly took to Twitter to decry
Akin's comments, saying that "As a woman & former prosecutor who
handled 100s of rape cases, I'm stunned by Rep Akin's comments about victims
this AM."
This month, Akin won the state's Republican U.S.
Senate primary by a comfortable margin of victory. During the primary, Akin
enhanced his standing with TV ads in which former Arkansas governor and
presidential candidate Mike Huckabee praised him as "a courageous
conservative" and "a Bible-based Christian" who "supports
traditional marriage" and "defends the unborn."
Akin, a former state lawmaker who first won election
to the U.S. House in 2000, also has a long-established base among evangelical
Christians, and was endorsed in the primary by more than 100 pastors.
Within hours of Akin's win, McCaskill had cast him
as a conservative extremist who would jeopardize seniors' health care and
retirement savings while putting college out of reach for all but the rich.
Akin countered by portraying McCaskill — one of
the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the nation — as a budget-busting,
tax-hiking, big-spending liberal.
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