US politician refuses to quit after controversial rape comment
The would-be US Senator who caused a furore by claiming rape victims could automatically prevent themselves becoming pregnant has refused to abandon his election attempt.
Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri had said in a TV interview when asked about abortions for rape victims: "It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Mr Akin apologised for the comments, saying rape is "never legitimate", but pledged to continue the race.
The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said the remarks about rape may "prevent him from effectively representing" the Republican Party. At least two Republican senators said he should resign the party's nomination.
Mr Akin, an anti-abortion six-term Congressman, is opposing Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in the November election.
The race is seen as one of the Republicans' best chances of defeating a Democratic incumbent as they try to gain control of the Senate. Missouri is an increasingly conservative state and Ms McCaskill has been targeted because of her strong ties to President Barack Obama.
"If it was me," Republican Chairman Reince Priebus said, "I would step aside and let someone else run for that office."
Mr Akin said: "The good people of Missouri nominated me, and I'm not a quitter," he said. "And my belief is we're going to take this thing forward and by the grace of God, we're going to win this race."
As his political support waned, Mr Akin also confronted problems paying for his campaign.
The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has withdrawn $5m (€4m) in advertising planned for the Missouri race.
At least one outside group that has criticised Ms McCaskill with ads also halted its Missouri campaign.
After making the comment, Mr Akin later released a statement saying that he "misspoke" during the interview, though the statement did not say specifically which points were in error.
Moments after the apology, President Barack Obama said the comments underscore why politicians - most of whom are men - should not make health decisions on behalf of women.
"Rape is rape" Mr Obama said, adding that the idea of distinguishing among types of rape "doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me."
Behind the scenes, Republican officials were looking for intermediaries trusted by Mr Akin to try to coax him from the race.
Missouri election law allows candidates to withdraw 11 weeks before Election Day. Otherwise, a court order would be needed to remove a candidate's name from the ballot.
