Republican Candidate for Senate Calls Pregnancies Resulting From Rape "A Gift of God"
Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock’s remarks during a debate Tuesday caused an uproar.
Per Thinkprogress:
“The only exception I have for to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother,” Mourdock claimed. “I struggled with myself for a long time but I came to realize life is that gift from God, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape. It is something that God intended to happen.”
Mitt Romney, who had endorsed Mourdock and appeared in a Mourdock ad, has disavowed the comments (but not withdrawn his endorsement).
Mourdock is the second Senate GOP nominee to make controversial comments about rape and abortion.
In August, Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, made a goofy claim that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy because ““If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
And Slate says:
“ It seems not every Republican has learned the lesson from Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments. After a debate with his Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, reporters asked Republican Congressman Joe Walsh if he believed there was no such thing as a medically necessary abortion. “Absolutely,” he replied.
“With modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance” when a medical issue justified abortion, he continued. In case that didn’t make it clear, Walsh opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or health threat to the mother.”
State Rep. Roger Rivard (R-WI) who'd won Paul Ryan’s backing, claimed that some girls “rape easy” and sometimes portray a sexual encounter as rape if they become pregnant. Huffington Post reports that Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan subsequently withdrew their endorsement of Rivard.
On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Family Action PAC -- which bills itself as committed to "strengthening and preserving marriage, family, life and liberty" -- endorsed Rivard, reports the Huffington Post.
The 2012 GOP platform calls for a ban on all abortions without exception.
Per Thinkprogress:
“ ( Mitt) Romney claims that the procedure should remain legal if the life of the woman is in danger or if she had been raped or a victim of incest, though he has previously lent his support to a state personhood amendment that would endow fertilized eggs with the rights of humans and restrict abortion in all cases. During a 2007 GOP primary debate, Romney also said he would be “delighted” to sign a bill outlawing all abortions.”
“Ryan too has backed a federal personhood measure and supported legislation (along with at least 68 House Republicans) seeking to prevent Medicaid recipients who are raped from obtaining an abortion unless they can prove they are victims of “forcible rape.” Since his first House campaign in 1998, Ryan also claimed that abortion should be illegal except for cases in which a doctor deems an abortion necessary to save the mother’s life.”
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Update: 10/26 Per CBSNews.com:
"The Tea Party-backed Republican in Indiana's Senate race, Richard Mourdock, said during a debate Tuesday night that when pregnancy results from rape, that is "something God intended."
Asked about Mourdock's comment Wednesday on "The Tonight Show," Obama told host Jay Leno, quote: "Rape is rape. It is a crime."
Obama says such remarks reflect why politicians, mostly male, shouldn't be making decisions about women's health care. He also says that women are capable of making their own decisions and that intrusions by politicians is part of what's at stake in the presidential election."
