Obama condemns Todd Akin’s ‘legitimate rape’ comments
President Obama today condemned the statements of Rep. Todd Akin on the subject of rape, tying the conservative lawmaker’s remarks to Mitt Romney and other Republicans who oppose reproductive rights.
“Rape is rape,” Obama told reporters this afternoon, referring to the Missouri Republican’s statement that victims of “legitimate rape” don’t usually get pregnant.
“The idea that we should be parsing, qualifying, slicing what types of rape we’re talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people,” Obama said during a surprise visit to the White House briefing room. “It certainly doesn’t make sense to me.”
Even though Romney has tried to distance himself from Akin’s remarks, Obama said, the comments “underscore” a difference between him and his opponents when it comes to the right of women to make health-related choices for themselves.
The comments “underscore . . . why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, the majority of whom are men, making healthcare decisions on behalf of women,” Obama said. He said the remarks should raise questions about “the underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women.”
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