Missouri Congressman Todd Akin says heās apologetic but wonāt bow out of the race for the United States Senate after suggesting that womenās bodies can prevent pregnancies in ālegitimate rapeā situations.
āPeople do become pregnant from rape and I didnāt mean to imply that that wasnāt the case. It does happen,ā Akin told radio host Mike Huckabee on Monday.
He also apologized for using the phrase ālegitimate rapeā saying that he intended to use the phrase āforcible rape,ā a controversial term that critics say appears to exclude statutory offences and situations where the victim has been drugged.
āA rape is equally tragic,ā Akin said Monday. āAnd I made that statement in error. Let me be clear: Rape is never legitimate. Itās an evil act.ā
Akinās about-face comes as many in the Republican Senate nomineeās own party attempt to distance themselves from his suggestion that when it comes to pregnancy from rape āthe female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.ā
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney issued a statement Sunday, distancing his campaign from Akinās comments.
"Governor Romney and Congressman (Paul) Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney spokesperson Amanda Henneberg said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the comments make clear why politicians should not make health decisions for women.
"Rape is rape" Obama said, adding that making a distinction among different types of rape, "doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me."
The six-term congressman made the comments in a Sunday interview with KTVI-TV in St. Louis. He also told the station that he understood pregnancy from rape is āreally rare,ā citing information he gleaned from doctors.
The comments prompted both outrage and mockery, and Akin first released a statement Sunday night saying that he āmisspokeā during the interview and has ādeep empathyā for women who are raped and abused.
In that statement, he also said that he believes ādeeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.ā
Akin won his Republican nomination by a wide margin. During the campaign, Akin and Huckabee appeared together in television ads in which the latter, a former Arkansas governor, called Akin āa courageous conservative,ā and a āBible-based āChristianā who ādefends the unborn.ā
The backlash against Akinās interview included calls for the congressman to quit the Senate race.
Insisting that heās ānot a quitter,ā Akin said Monday he wonāt be taking his name off the ballot.
āI donāt know that Iām the only person in public office who has suffered from āfoot in mouthā disease here,ā said Akin, adding that he made a āvery, very serious error.ā
Akin also said no one from the Republican Party has asked him to drop out of the race.
However, at least two Republican senators, Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said he should quit the campaign. As well, a source told The Associated Press that the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has withdrawn $5 million in advertising that had been allocated for Missouri.
The Republicans are hoping to unseat Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in a tight race that could allow them to gain control of the Senate in November.
On Sunday, McCaskill issued a statement saying that it is ābeyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape."
With files from The Associated Press
