DAVENPORT, Iowa, Oct 24 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's campaign leaped on Wednesday to link rival Mitt Romney with a Republican U.S. Senate candidate's comments on rape, calling them an outrageous reminder of the restrictions Republicans would place on women's healthcare choices.
Democrats criticized Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock for saying in a debate on Tuesday that pregnancy caused by rape is "something God intended to happen."
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the president believed Mourdock's comment was "outrageous and demeaning to women," and it was "perplexing" that Romney had not demanded a television ad he filmed on behalf of Mourdock be scrapped.
"This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican president, Mitt Romney, would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own healthcare," Psaki told reporters on Air Force One as it flew to the swing state of Iowa for a campaign stop.
Romney's campaign distanced him on Tuesday from the remark, saying the candidate disagreed with it and it did not reflect his views.
Mourdock, the state treasurer and a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, ousted longtime Senator Richard Lugar in the Republican primary earlier this year. He is locked in a tight race with Democrat Joe Donnelly ahead of the Nov. 6 election.
The furor was reminiscent of a controversy in Missouri earlier this year when Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin prompted an uproar by saying women's bodies have defenses against pregnancy after "legitimate rape." Akin now trails in his race.
The renewed controversy comes as Obama and Romney are locked in a tight race for the White House and are battling hard for the votes of women. Obama has criticized Romney for his opposition to abortion rights except in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.
Mourdock stood by his comments on Wednesday and said the controversy was the sort of thing that happened too often in Washington.
"I spoke from my heart, I spoke with my principle, I spoke from my faith, and if others want to twist my words and use them against me, again, that's what's wrong with Washington today," he told a news conference.
Women's health groups pounced on the remark to hammer home their argument that women would face restricted healthcare choices under a Republican administration led by Romney.
"Richard Mourdock is the only Senate candidate in the country with a TV ad starring Mitt Romney. It's not enough for the Romney campaign to issue a tepid statement 'disagreeing' with Richard Mourdock's appalling remarks," said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
"Mitt Romney must immediately rescind his endorsement of Mourdock and demand that Mourdock take down the campaign ads featuring him," she said.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
