BOSTON - Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts on Monday called on Representative Todd Akin of Missouri, a fellow Republican, to quit his Senate race, saying that his comments on rape were too far out of bounds.
“As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin's comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong,†Mr. Brown said in a statement on Monday morning.
“There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking,†he added. “Not only should he apologize, but I believe Representative Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri.â€
Mr. Akin prompted anger across the political spectrum on Sunday with a comment regarding pregnancies resulting from rape. He said they were rare, adding, “If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.â€
Mr. Brown appears to be the first Republican senator to call for Mr. Akin's resignation from the race. As a Republican in deep blue Massachusetts, Mr. Brown supports legalized abortion, but not the procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion. He has also supported abortion in cases of incest and rape and when the life of the woman is endangered.
Follow Katharine Q. Seelye on Twitter at @kseelye.
