Abortion thrust into US election debate

Republicans found themselves in a political hornet's nest Wednesday, with President Barack Obama's allies casting them as out of step on women's rights over a congressman's comments about "legitimate rape." Women comprise more than half of the US electorate, and 56 percent of them pulled the lever for Obama in 2008. That doesn't sit well with Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger who faces an admitted deficit in female support and would rather focus the presidential campaign on Obama's poor economic record. But with Congressman Todd Akin, a Christian conservative running for a US Senate seat held by Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill, re-igniting an explosive debate in recent days over abortion rights, both parties are scrambling for the high ground in the 10 weeks before election day. Some anti-abortion groups have rushed to Akin's defense, but he has been shunned by top Republicans including Romney and congressional leaders who have directly called on the Missouri lawmaker to stand down from the race. There was widespread revulsion over his scientifically unsupported assertion that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Akin apologized but is standing his ground. "I don't apologize for being pro-life and standing up for the ones who are defenseless," he told ABC News on Wednesday. Democrats insist there is no daylight between Akin, who wants to outlaw all abortion including in the case of rape or incest, and what the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League described as the "extreme anti-choice platform" of the Republicans. Obama's party has been quick to demonize Akin and tar all Republicans -- including Romney's running mate Paul Ryan -- who have joined Akin on legislation that would restrict abortion rights. "Todd Akin is really just the tip of the iceberg," Dawn Laguens, executive vice president for policy at pro-choice health care provider Planned Parenthood, told CNN on Wednesday. Republican leaders on Tuesday approved the platform their party will vote on during next week's national convention, supporting a "human life amendment" that would ban abortion and provides constitutional protections to an "unborn child." Obama's campaign was quick to note that Romney supported the same language in the 2004 and 2008 platforms, while "Paul Ryan fought to ban abortion even in cases of rape." The right to an abortion was upheld in the US Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case, but in recent years some Republicans have sought its reversal. Exuding confidence, Democrats announced a series of women speakers at their national convention next month, including directors of two major pro-choice groups, and activist Sandra Fluke. A Georgetown University student, Fluke found herself in a political maelstrom in February after talk-show host Rush Limbaugh branded her a "slut" for supporting Obama's health care law requiring contraception coverage. On Tuesday, she said Romney and Ryan are "in lockstep with Akin on the major women's health issues of our time." "This controversy is not an accident, or a mistake, or an isolated incident," she said. "It's a reflection of a Republican Party whose policies are dangerous for women." Most American women support safe, legal access to abortion, but polls by Gallup show a slow erosion of support to keep abortion legal under any circumstances, from a high of 34 percent in 1992 to 25 percent this year. Republicans have an image problem, however. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released late Tuesday showed only 24 percent of respondents believe Romney would be a better defender of women's rights if he became president, against 54 percent who think Obama would be. Romney backed abortion rights when he was governor of Massachusetts, but took a stand against abortion when running for president, although his campaign says he "would not oppose abortion in instances of rape." Ryan has consistently voted against abortion rights but on Wednesday he sought to distance himself from Akin. When asked by CBS News whether abortion should be available to women in instances of rape, Ryan said he was "proud" of his pro-life record in Congress.