During the 2012 United States election cycle, in federal and state elections, a series of controversies arose as a result of statements by Republican Party candidates about rape, pregnancy, contraception, abortion, and related topics. The first and most widely covered controversy concerned Republican U.S. Senate candidate Representative Todd Akin of Missouri, who stated that pregnancy rarely occurs as a result of what he called "legitimate rape". Medical experts said Akin's statement is false, and many women's rights groups found the phrase "legitimate rape" demeaning. Akin's comments had a far-reaching political impact, changing the focus of political campaigns across the country to the war on women. Akin was eventually denounced by politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties, most prominently by presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama; he lost the election on November 6 to Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill.

Following Akin's comments, additional controversies arose around other remarks made by various Republican politicians. The most notable of these was by Indiana State Treasurer and US Senate nominee Richard Mourdock, who said that life was "something that God intended", even if the pregnancy was due to rape. Some analysts identified the controversies around Mourdock's and Akin's comments, and those of other candidates, as a principal factor in their election losses. The comments may have had an effect on the national election results; many female voters supported Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Background In some cases, it has been claimed by anti-abortion activists that pregnancy from rape is either rare or impossible. This is an incorrect assertion; studies repeatedly show that any female capable of ovulation may become pregnant after rape by a fertile male, and the prevalence of pregnancy from rape is the same or greater than pregnancy from consensual sex.

Rape leads to tens of thousands of pregnancies each year. In a three-year longitudinal study of 4,000 American women, physician Melisa Holmes found that forced sexual intercourse causes over 32,000 pregnancies in the United States each year. That study revealed a pregnancy rate among women aged 12–45 of 5% of rapes and 6% of victims. A 1987 study also found a 5% pregnancy rate from rape of 18- to 24-year-old higher education students in the US. A 2005 study places the rape-related pregnancy rate at around 3–5%. Physician Felicia H. Stewart and economist James Trussell estimated that 333,000 assaults and rapes reported in the US in 1998 caused about 25,000 pregnancies, and that up to 22,000 of those pregnancies could have been prevented by prompt medical treatment, such as emergency contraception. A study of Ethiopian adolescents who reported being raped found that 17% subsequently became pregnant, and rape crisis centers in Mexico reported the figure at 15–18%. Estimates of rape-related pregnancy rates may be low since the crime is under-reported, so some pregnancies from rape are not recorded as such.

This discredited theory regarding the rarity of pregnancy from rape was popularized by Fred Mecklenburg in 1972. While serving as assistant clinical professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Mecklenburg published an article entitled "The Indications for Induced Abortion: A Physician's Perspective". He wrote that pregnancy resulting from rape is "extremely rare", that during rape sexual intercourse is not always successfully completed, that the probability of rape coinciding with a woman's ovulation period is low, and that rape-induced trauma impedes ovulation.

Although it is false, the idea that trauma might function as a form of birth control has been advanced by anti-abortion activists attempting to secure an unqualified ban on abortion. For example, the former President of the National Right to Life Committee and physician John C. Willke wrote in a 1985 text that when undergoing rape, the female body can physiologically prevent conception. Revisiting his statement in a 1999 article, published in the Life Issues Connector, Willke wrote, "There's no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape ... This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization and implantation." Willke, whose 1999 article has been posted on an anti-abortion website, said in August 2012 that rape, "is a traumatic thing" and women undergoing rape are "frightened, tight and so on. And sperm, if deposited in her vagina, are less likely to be able to fertilize. The tubes are spastic."

Similar statements on rape and pregnancy continued to be made at times prior to the election. In 1975, Republican Senator Dewey F. Bartlett, tabling an unsuccessful legislative amendment to withdraw state funding for abortions, said, "A person who is raped very seldom becomes pregnant. Statistics show it is very rare." Pennsylvania state representative Stephen Freind said in 1988 that the odds of a pregnancy resulting from rape were "one in millions and millions and millions". James Leon Holmes published a letter in 1980 stating, "concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami". In 1995, North Carolina House of Representatives member Henry Aldridge said during a debate to eliminate a state abortion fund for poor women, "The facts show that people who are raped—who are truly raped—the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work and they don't get pregnant. Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever." In 1998, Arkansas state senator Fay Boozman lost a campaign for a US Senate seat after saying that fear-induced hormonal changes made rape victims unlikely to become pregnant.

Todd Akin

Todd Akin, a long-time anti-abortion activist, served as a Republican member of the House of Representatives for Missouri's 2nd congressional district from 2001 until 2013. On August 7, 2012, Akin won the Republican primary to become his party's nominee for the U.S. Senate election in Missouri. On August 19, Akin said that victims of what he termed "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant. He said this during an interview aired on the St. Louis television station KTVI-TV when asked whether women who are raped and become pregnant should have the option of abortion. He replied:Well you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. 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. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

Akin's comments almost immediately led to uproar. The term "legitimate rape" was called "loathsome" because it suggests that "there are different categories of rape — some real and awful and others that are not". Others took exception to the phrasing because it suggests that rape victims who become pregnant are likely to be lying. Akin's words were based on long-discredited pseudoscience; experts said the claims lacked any medical validity. Senior figures in both parties condemned Akin's remarks and some called for him to resign his seat or abandon his Senate candidacy.

Akin apologized after making the comment, saying he "misspoke", and that he planned to remain in the Senate race. He stated that by "legitimate rape" he meant "forcible rape", saying, "I was talking about forcible rape ... I used the wrong word". Akin's congressional record showed support for limits to abortion, such as co-sponsoring a bill that would make abortion illegal even in the case of rape.

Akin responded to the comments by issuing a press release stating:As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve. On August 21, he issued a television commercial in which he said: Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize. As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault, and I pray for them. The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness. In relation to the resulting furore over his original "legitimate rape" comment, Akin said: "I talk about one word, one sentence, one day out of place, and, all of a sudden, the entire establishment turns on you."

Akin later wrote a book, Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom (published July 2014), in which he stated that he regretted apologizing for these remarks, because, "by asking the public at large for forgiveness, I was validating the willful misinterpretation of what I had said". He said that he meant "legitimate rape" as an abbreviated form of "legitimate case of rape". He also reiterated that he believed a woman's body would prevent conception if she had been raped, due to impact of stress on fertilization. He criticized members of his party for disavowing him, including Karl Rove, former National Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director Rob Jesmer, Senators Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, John McCain, Roy Blunt, and Lindsey Graham, and House Speaker John Boehner, and what he referred to as the "liberal media" for supposed double standards, comparing his candidacy to that of George Allen, derailed due to Allen's use of a racist slur.

Response Senior Republicans strongly condemned Akin's remarks. The party's presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, said they were "inexcusable, insulting, and frankly, wrong", and called for Akin to step down; Paul Ryan, Romney's vice presidential nominee, echoed this call. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said that "if he continues with this misguided campaign, it will be without the support and resources of the NRSC". Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Akin's remarks were "totally inexcusable" and "wildly offensive". Conservative commentators Sean Hannity, Charles Krauthammer and Mark Levin called for Akin to step aside, as did the editorial teams of the Wall Street Journal and National Review, nine sitting US Senators, and five Republican senators from Missouriformer senators John Danforth, Kit Bond, James Talent and John Ashcroft, and incumbent Roy Blunt. Fellow Republican Congressmen and Senate hopefuls Jeff Flake and Denny Rehberg also called for Akin's resignation. The Republican Political Action Committee American Crossroads said it would cut off all aid to Akin's candidacy. Immediately after the comment, Scott Ross of NBC said that Akin's comments affected his Senate candidacy.