* Republican candidate says pregnancy in "legitimate rape"
cases rare
* Romney campaign shuns Missouri candidate's position
WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Republican challenger for
a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat in Missouri said on Sunday
that he "misspoke" when he said women have biological defenses
to prevent pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape," making legal
abortion rights unnecessary.
U.S. Representative Todd Akin, who is running against
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill in the Nov. 6 election, made
the comments to KTVI television in St. Louis, drawing swift
protest from McCaskill and other Democrats.
Akin, a Tea Party-backed conservative who opposes abortion,
said in the interview that the need for abortions in the case of
rape was "a particularly tough ethical question."
"It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that
is really rare," Akin said of pregnancy caused by rape. "If it's
a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that
whole thing down," Akin said.
"But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something:
I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment
ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."
McCaskill, who is considered one of the most vulnerable
Senate Democrats in a state that has shifted to the right since
she was first elected in 2006, immediately fired off a rebuke on
Twitter.
"As a woman and former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape
cases, I'm stunned by Rep. Akin's comments about victims this
AM," she wrote.
Akin later backtracked, saying in a statement:
"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I
misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep
empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and
abused every year."
He promised that rape victims "will have no stronger
advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they
deserve" if he was elected.
However, Akin did not back down on his position opposing
abortion in the case of rape, adding: "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."
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign
distanced itself from Akin's position.
"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," the statement read.
Akin, a six-term congressman from the St. Louis suburbs, won
a hard-fought three-way primary race two weeks ago. McCaskill's
campaign spent funds during that campaign to help him win,
viewing him as a far-right conservative who would be easier to
defeat in November.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Fred Barbash and Paul
Simao)