{"id":15030,"date":"2012-10-23T06:20:38","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T10:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=15030"},"modified":"2012-10-23T06:20:38","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T10:20:38","slug":"richard-mourdock-on-abortion-pregnancy-from-rape-is-something-god-intended-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2012\/10\/richard-mourdock-on-abortion-pregnancy-from-rape-is-something-god-intended-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Mourdock On Abortion: Pregnancy From Rape Is ‘Something God Intended’ [UPDATE]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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by Michael McAuliff<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON — Indiana GOP U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock declared Tuesday night he opposes aborting pregnancies conceived in rape because “it is something that God intended to happen.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Debating Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) in their final Senate race showdown, a questioner asked them and Libertarian candidate Andrew Horning to explain their views on abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

All three said they were anti-abortion. But Mourdock went further, putting himself in territory near Missouri GOP Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin, the anti-abortion congressman who infamously asserted that women don’t get pregnant from “legitimate rape.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“The only exception I have to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother,” said Mourdock, the Tea Party-backed state treasurer. “I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Mourdock unseated veteran Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in the May primary, and has battled Donnelly for the longtime senator’s supporters since. Abortion has been a touchy issue for the candidates, with Mourdock accusing Donnelly of lacking strength on the issue because Donnelly backed the health care reform law. Donnelly has criticized a requirement that ensures women can get birth control, even when their employer objects to contraception.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I believe in pro-life,” Donnelly said, carving out somewhat more moderate anti-abortion stance. “I believe that life begins at conception. The only exceptions I believe in are for rape, incest and the life a mother.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Horning argued that the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision was unconstitutional, and that abortion issues should be state matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has endorsed Mourdock and cut a campaign ad on his behalf that began running in Indiana on Tuesday,<\/span> took issue with the abortion comments<\/span><\/a><\/span> Tuesday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock’s comments, and they do not reflect his views,” said Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mourdock tried to clarify his comments soon after the debate, saying God does not intend sexual assaults.<\/span><\/p>\n

“God creates life, and that was my point,” Mourdock said in a statement. “God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that He does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Democrats jumped on the comments as further proof that Murdock is an extremist.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I think rape is a heinous and violent crime in every instance,” said Donnelly in his own statement. “The God I believe in and the God I know most Hoosiers believe in, does not intend for rape to happen — ever. What Mr. Mourdock said is shocking, and it is stunning that he would be so disrespectful to survivors of rape.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Richard Mourdock’s disturbing comment about rape is a window into Mourdock’s extreme view of the world, ” said Shripal Shah, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Indiana can’t afford to send a self-proclaimed ‘zealot’ and Tea Partier like Richard Mourdock to the Senate.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Mourdock has been trying to soften some of his postions for the general election after running on a platform that described<\/span> “compromise” as when Democrats came to agree with him.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Horning had argued earlier in the debate that Mourdock should stick with the harder line.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As I was reading about the extreme stands of Richard Mourdock I was thinking, ‘Hey, there’s hope for this guy.’ A lot of the stuff that he said was correct,” Horning said, referring to Mourdock’s suggestions that<\/span> entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security<\/span><\/a><\/span> may not be constitutional.<\/span><\/p>\n

“He has repudiated a lot of those statements. Some of it was about the unconstitutionality … right on,” Horning said. “We need somebody who is going to stick with principles.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Luke Johnson contributed reporting. This article was updated after publication.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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