Washington: US President Barack Obama has criticised Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock for his remarks about rape and pregnancy, saying that ‘rape is rape’ and that the comments “don’t make any sense to me”.
Obama, who appeared on NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’, said that women should be trusted to make their own decisions about their bodies, in consultation with their doctors, and politicians should not intrude.
“I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas... rape is rape. It is a crime. These various distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me, don't make any sense to me,” Obama said.
According to news.com.au, the latest controversy flared up after Mourdock said that pregnancy caused by rape was ‘something God intended to happen’.
The Obama campaign had called on his Republican White House rival Mitt Romney to repudiate his endorsement of Mourdock, the report said.
The Romney campaign said that the former governor disagreed with Mourdock’s remarks and did not reflect the presidential candidate’s views.
Romney’s aides, however, said that his ad supporting Mourdock would not be pulled from Indiana’s airwaves.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mourdock refused to apologise for the “something God intended” remark, but said that he regrets that some may have misconstrued and “twisted” his comments, it added.
ANI
First Published: Thursday, October 25, 2012, 14:37