The Democrat from Missouri has enlisted three survivors to help press her case against Todd Akin.

In the final weeks of the hard-fought battle to keep her U.S. Senate seat from Missouri, Claire McCaskill's campaign today released a Web video touting her record as a prosecutor of "predators," along with three ads featuring rape survivors talking about their opposition to her challenger, Rep. Todd Akin, because of his stance against the provision of emergency contraception to victims of rape.

"I've never voted for Claire McCaskill, but because of Todd Akin, I will now," says a woman identified as Diana in one of the spots. She described herself as "a Republican and a pro-life mother and a rape survivor," and, like the other women featured, does not give her surname.

Joanie, who describes herself as a "pro-life mother and a survivor of an extremely violent sexual assault" say that her faith means she must forgive Aikin for what he said, but that it's not something she can forget:

And Rachel says she took emergency contraception after being "brutally raped in a home invasion." Todd Akin's policies "would criminalize emergency contraception for women who are raped," she adds.

McCaskill has a small lead over Akin in the contest, according to recent polling, but RealClearPolitics still ranks the state a toss-up.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.