On Sunday, Aug. 19, Fox 2 News-St. Louis KTVI conducted an interview with Mr. Todd Akin, Republican Representative currently in the race against Democrat Claire McCaskill for the Missouri U.S. Senate seat, asking his opinion on abortion in cases of rape. What Rep. Akin said in response has been haunting him and his campaign ever since Fox News posted the interview late Sunday morning.
“It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down,” Akin said in the interview, according to KTVI’s web site.
As soon as the interview hit the web, the political sphere exploded with complaints of Akin’s term ‘legitimate rape’ and his apparent lack of knowledge of human reproduction. Prominent political figures such as Senator Claire McCaskill (D), Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama all released statements condemning Akin’s comments and made it clear that none agreed with Mr. Akin’s viewpoint on pregnancy and rape.
A mere six hours after the interview’s posting, Rep. Akin issued an apology statement, attempting to clarify what he said in the interview.
In an statement issued Sunday evening, Rep. Akin said, “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. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve.”
Even after Akin’s apology, four former Republican senators from Missouri issued a statement saying the right decision would be to step down in the race for the Senate seat, but Akin remains in the race despite the statement. Mr. Akin missed the deadline to drop out of the Senate race at 5:00 p.m., Aug. 21. Mr. Akin and his campaign will have to wait until election day to see if they made the right decision by staying in the race.
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To see Todd Akin’s full interview, visit http://fox2now.com/2012/08/19/the-jaco-report-august-19-2012/
