The fallout continues for Congressman Todd Akin.
Today the National Republican Senatorial Committee announced it was canceling $5 million in television spending it planned to purchase to help him defeat incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Meanwhile, the right-wing PAC, Crossroads, also announced that it was halting television buys on Akin's behalf.
The GOP senatorial hopeful (and staunch anti-abortion lawmaker) made international news yesterday when he told an interviewer it was his "understanding" that victims of a "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant because the female body has a way of somehow blocking conception following sexual assaults.
Today the Crime Victim Advocacy Center, a social agency that provides services to residents (including rape victims) in Akin's district, issued a statement condemning the congressman's statement.
"By suggesting a woman's body
can 'shut down' the fertilization process during a rape is not only inaccurate but irresponsible.
Should a woman get pregnant from rape, his statement provides one more way for the victim to
feel as though it is her fault," said Julie Lawson, president of the agency.
The Crime Victim Advocacy Center is now demanding that Akin, who says he misspoke yesterday, explain where he got his misinformation, including which doctors he consulted.