Power

Candidates Who Oppose Rape Exceptions Being Supported By Victims, Those Conceived In Rape In New Ads

In the last day of campaigning, both Akin and Mourdock and looking to spin comments about rape victims into positives.

Richard Mourdock. Photo: Womenarewatching.org.

Senate candidates Todd Akin in Missouri and Richard Mourdock in Indiana have both experienced a backlash after making insensitive and highly-publicized comments about  rape, pregnancy, and abortion. In the final days of the campaign, both candidates are also taking similar paths when it comes to damage control.

Missouri Congressman Todd Akin is finishing off his campaign with an ad from female supporters who oppose abortion. The ad features women from a previously released and later pulled “Women for Akin” campaign video briefly available on the Congressman’s website shortly after his original August comments that women’s bodies could “shut that whole thing down” to prevent pregnancy in rape.

One woman discusses how she had been raped, how she had once ended a pregnancy (but not necessarily that the two were related), and her support for Akin. “The reason that I’m voting for Todd and that I’m so proud of him is because he defends the unborn. He’s a kind man, a compassionate man. He has so much integrity.”

The ad won’t be the only one running on Akin’s behalf in the state. Conservative PAC Now or Never has announced a massive ad buy in the state as well, which will focus on how electing Akin will give a potential President Mitt Romney a needed vote in the senate to pass GOP priority legislation. But Akin’s decision to run his own commercial reminding voters of the controversy may potentially lose him a winnable seat could be a dangerous gamble. On one hand, the ad could calm voters who worry that his views mean he is too extreme to be supported in the state and among political colleagues. On the other hand, a new poll shows that 74 percent of respondents believe abortion should be a legal option for rape victims who become pregnant as a result of their assault.

Akin isn’t the only one to use women whose lives have been affected by sexual assault and see the subsequent pregnancies as a positive. In Indiana, Richard Mourdock’s argument that rape victims should accept their pregnancies as a gift from God is being echoed by a group of women conceived in rape, who are offering their support to the embattled candidate in the campaign’s final stage.

Via WISHtv.com:

Four women who say they were conceived in rape are now making a video designed to help Senate candidate Richard Mourdock.

Mourdock’s campaign has been hurt by the controversy surrounding his statement that a pregnancy caused by rape is “what God intended.” Pro-life forces from around the country are rallying to support him.

At an Indianapolis television production studio a pro-life foundation is creating a video that features the four women who say they want their voices heard in the political firestorm surrounding Richard Mourdock. Pam Stenzel, who came in from Minnesota says of Mourdock, “What he said is every life has value.”

“There is no apologies for what he said,” says Monica Kelsey of Woodburn, Indiana. “My life matters.”

While Akin and Mourdock try to recover from their controversies, other candidates are stepping carefully to ensure they don’t create a last minute opportunity for their opponents on the same topic. In the Minnesota 6th District, a tight race between incumbent Michele Bachmann and challenger Jim Graves had its final debate yesterday. When asked if she agreed with Mourdock and other anti-choice politician’s “no exceptions” position on abortion, Bachmann responded simply. “My position is in line with the Catholic Church,” Bachmann said, according to the St. Cloud Times. “That’s been my position for 40 years. It hasn’t changed.”

With four days until the election, Bachmann likely won’t be the only candidate treading lightly.