GOP Congressman, Todd Akin, Who Made 'Legitimate Rape' Remark Dies

[Demovictory9]

(NEWSER) – Former US Rep. Todd Akin, a conservative Missouri Republican whose comment that women's bodies have a way of avoiding pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape" sunk his bid for the US Senate, and who became a cautionary tale for other GOP candidates, died late Sunday. He was 74. Akin had cancer for several years, his son Perry said in a statement. He died at his home in Wildwood, a St. Louis suburb. "As my father's death approached, we had people from all different walks of life share story after story of the personal impact he had on them," Perry Akin said in a statement to the AP. "He was a devout Christian, a great father, and a friend to many.”

Akin represented a GOP-leaning eastern Missouri district that included St. Louis-area suburbs for 12 years, giving up a safe seat to run for the US Senate in 2012 against the incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill—only to seriously hurt Republicans' chances of recapturing a Senate majority less than two weeks later. Akin, a strong abortion opponent, was asked during an interview by a St. Louis television station whether he supported allowing abortions for women who've been raped. He answered that "from what I understand from doctors" such pregnancies are "really rare."

He added: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." His comments sparked an outcry.

https://www.newser.com/story/311775/gop-congressman-who-made-legitimate-rape-remark-dies.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_world_login