GOP fury at new rape comments

Rep. Phil Gingrey?s attempts to explain Todd Akin?s rape remarks are leaving many Republicans beyond frustrated that a few in their party can?t help but insert rape into the already contentious abortion debate.

?This is actually pretty simple. If you?re about to talk about rape as anything other than a brutal and horrible crime, stop,? said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who was a senior adviser in Mitt Romney?s campaign.

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(PHOTOS: 5 controversial Todd Akin quotes)

On Thursday, the Georgia Republican didn?t heed that advice, telling a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast that Akin was ?partially right? when he said last year that a woman can stop herself from getting pregnant.

?We tell infertile couples all the time that are having trouble conceiving because of the woman not ovulating, ?Just relax. Drink a glass of wine. And don?t be so tense and uptight because all that adrenaline can cause you not to ovulate,?? Gingrey said.

He also said that Akin?s definition of a ?non-legitimate rape? could be ?a scared-to-death 15-year-old that becomes impregnated by her boyfriend and then has to tell her parents.?

The comments were reported by the Marietta Daily Journal. Gingrey later said that he wasn?t trying to defend remarks by Akin or Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, and that his position was misconstrued ?in my attempt to provide context as to what I presumed they meant.?

But Gingrey?s lengthy explanation of what Akin meant was quickly circulated by Democrats, repudiated by medical groups, and had some Republicans smacking their heads in frustration.

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And it may have added new urgency to a training program that?s already being launched by an anti-abortion group ? the Susan B. Anthony list ? to keep candidates and lawmakers from continually making the same kinds of comments that may have helped ruin Republicans? chances of winning the Senate.

Former Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) questioned why Gingrey was talking about the months-old comment in the first place.

?There?s no way to defend what Todd Akin said,? Bono Mack said. ?You just can?t do it and you shouldn?t try to put it into a scientific context. It was a bad statement. And to try to defend it or explain someone else?s poor choice of words, it would be a fool?s errand.?

Bono Mack, who was first elected in 1998 but lost her reelection this fall, said some House Republicans don?t understand the full range of emotions associated with the abortion debate.

?It was my belief when I was in the Congress, and I tried to explain this to my colleagues: The abortion issue isn?t just about abortion. It?s about so much more. It?s about delving into what it means to women and what it means to Americans,? she said. For women, it means ?a loss of autonomy. To Americans, it means government intrusion into their lives.?

Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser said the lawmakers are falling for a trap set by proponents of abortion rights who want to focus the debate on extremes such as rape instead of other abortions.

Source: http://feeds.politico.com/click.phdo?i=876fd5b743492682383bc94a994a2ea1

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