Romney touted the endorsement from Dr. John Willke in 2007. | AP, Reuters Akin source was Romney surrogate

Although Mitt Romney has denounced Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks about “legitimate rape” victims rarely getting pregnant, the controversial doctor behind Akin’s debunked claim was an “important surrogate” for the GOP hopeful during his last presidential bid.

As several outlets reported Tuesday, Romney in 2007 touted the endorsement from Dr. John “Jack” Willke, a prominent and controversial anti-abortion physician often referred to as “the father of the antiabortion movement.”


“Today, Dr. John Willke, a founder of the Pro Life Movement, endorsed Gov. Mitt Romney and his campaign for our nation’s highest office,” reads a Romney campaign press release from October 2007. “Dr. Willke is a leading voice within the pro-life community and will be an important surrogate for Gov. Romney’s pro-life and pro-family agenda.”

In that release, Romney is quoted as saying, “I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country. He knows how important it is to have someone in Washington who will actively promote pro-life policies.”

In “Why Can’t We Love Them Both: Questions and Answers About Abortion,” a book that Willke published in 1971 with his wife, they claim that the trauma associated with “assault rape” makes a woman’s body less habitable and thus lessens the possibility of pregnancy, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Facing widespread calls from GOP heavyweights for him to drop out of the congressional race, Akin on Tuesday released a letter he received from Willke, stating “the pro-life movement and I unequivocally stand with Rep. Akin.”

Romney on Tuesday asked Akin to drop his bid to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill.