Republican Statements on Rape Cause Firestorm

By National Journal Staff

Updated: November 1, 2012 | 9:00 a.m.
October 29, 2012 | 9:45 a.m.

From Todd Akin to Richard Mourdock, statements made by Republican candidates about rape during this election cycle have set off a continued firestorm. Here is some of what's been said.

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., a Senate candidate, set off a firestorm when he said that victims of "legitimate" rape couldn't get pregnant because female bodies have "ways to shut that whole thing down." (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said in an interview on Aug. 20 that he hasn't heard of women getting pregnant after being raped. (Ben Terris)

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., said at a town hall on Aug. 30 that "there are very few pregnancies as a result of rape, fortunately, and incest." (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Tom Smith, left, compared pregnancy from rape to pregnancy out of wedlock. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Richard Mourdock, Indiana Republican Senate candidate, said that pregnancies resulting from rape are "God's will" during a Senate debate on Oct. 23, 2012. (TOM STRATTMAN/AP)

John Koster, a Republican nominee for the House in Washington, was secretly recorded referring to "the rape thing" twice at a fundraiser on Sunday, October 28, 2012. (Courtesy of the John Koster Campaign)

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