Obama, Romney slam Republican lawmaker for 'rape' gaffe

Washington: Denouncing a Republican lawmaker’s remarks that women who suffer “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant, US President Barack Obama has termed them as “offensive” while his White House rival Mitt Romney called them “inexcusable,” setting off an abortion debate that may impact the election campaign. “The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we’re talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people, and certainly doesn’t make sense to me,” Obama told reporters at a White House news conference. [caption id=“attachment_425150” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Todd Akin. AP.[/caption] Congressman Todd Akin, who is Republican party’s Senate candidate from Missouri, has apologised for his comments which he made during an interview when he was asked if he would support abortions for women who have been raped. “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. Asked about the remarks made by Akin, Obama said: “I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women.” “Although these particular comments have led Governor (Mitt) Romney and other Republicans to distance themselves, I think the underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women for their health care decisions, or qualifying forcible rape versus non-forcible rape, I think those are broader issues, and that is a significant difference in approach between me and the other party,” he said. Akin yesterday apologised for his remarks. “What I said was ill-conceived, and it was wrong. I really just want to apologise to those that I’ve hurt,” he told a radio show hosted by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, was quick to distance himself from the remarks coming from his party colleague, calling them “inexcusable.” Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Akin’s remarks reflected an effort in Congress in particular to define rape in a way that makes no sense to a lot of women and demonstrates why it is so important for women to be in control of their own health care. “Those comments are obviously offensive. Clearly offensive. And factually wrong, medically wrong, and offensive. I think you have also seen efforts in Congress to define rape in a way that limits women’s control over their own health care, and that’s wrong too,” Carney said. PTI