Akin's recent comments have turned a spotlight on the issue. No rape exception in GOP platform

TAMPA, Fla. — Even as Mitt Romney sought to quash the furor surrounding Todd Akin’s “legitimate” rape comments, the Republican platform committee here approved an abortion plank that includes no exemptions for rape, incest or even to save the life of the mother.

The platform committee instead approved draft language Tuesday, calling for a “Human Life Amendment” that gives legal protection to the unborn. Democrats quickly labeled the GOP language the “Akin Plank,” referring to the Missouri Senate candidate’s statements that victims of “ legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant.


On Tuesday, not one of the 100-plus members on the GOP platform committee introduced amendments. They kept the identical language from 2004 and 2008.

“I appreciate the good work that that committee did — in past platforms that has been hours of discussion — and I applaud the committee’s work in affirming our respect for human life,” said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the chairman of the platform committee. “Well done.”

The full committee later passed a measure opposing the FDA approval of drugs like RU-486, which North Carolina representative Mary Summa called “an abortion pill.” The platform would now effectively prevent the sale of “any drug that terminates life after conception.”

Not everyone liked the idea.

“In light of the recent comments by Congressman Todd Akin,” said Alabama platform representative Jacqueline Curtiss, “and in an attempt to reaffirm to the American people the party’s sensitivity on the subject of rape, I believe that we should not support an amendment which opposes approval of a method that has been proven effective in preventing the pregnancy of rape victims.”

She wound up on the losing end of the vote. It was the only time Akin was mentioned by name during two days of platform committee meetings.

The full platform committee also voted to reinstate support for abstinence-only education, after a subcommittee had removed it Monday.

The abortion language approved Tuesday endorses legislation that would say the 14th Amendment applies after conception and that would oppose using public funds to pay for abortions. It urges Congress to strengthen the Born Alive Infant Protection Act of 2002 by adding civil and criminal penalties for doctors who don’t adequately care for newborn babies. It supports a ban on sex-selective abortions. It also calls for mandatory waiting periods and parental consent requirements.

At a press conference late Tuesday, McDonnell emphasized the language on jobs and the economy – which he called the “strength of the document.” He warned against reading too much into the social issues and distanced Romney from it, saying the candidate would have to speak for himself on what he agreed with in it.

“We have a general plank in there that affirms our belief in the God-given right to life,” McDonnell said. “The specifics are generally left up to states. This is a reaffirmation of principles that we’ve held true for some 20, 30 years now.”

Romney’s campaign announced Sunday that the former Massachusetts governor would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.

Democratic groups and the Obama campaign plan to use the platform against Republican candidates, forcing them to distance themselves from the document.

“Several Romney supporters and advisers were present and stood silently while this vote took place,” Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement. “This should come as no surprise, as Mitt Romney supported this exact language in the 2004 and 2008 Republican platforms and Paul Ryan fought to ban abortion even in cases of rape.”

The Democratic National Committee quickly labeled what Republicans passed as the “Akin Plank.”

“Republicans are hellbent on turning back the clock for women in America — today they’ll vote to make government force a woman impregnated during a rape to carry that pregnancy to term,” EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock said in a statement. “The days of small government are long gone in the GOP.”

Earlier Tuesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus defended the platform’s language.

“This is the platform of the Republican Party,” he said. “It is not the platform of Mitt Romney.”

The abortion section also applauds adult stem-cell research but opposes federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.