A reporter for a Denver CBS affiliate revealed Thursday that Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign had refused to do an interview if there would be questions about Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) or abortion.

“You know, I had about five minutes with him, and we got through a fair amount of material, actually, in that five minutes,” reporter Shaun Boyd said. “The one stipulation to the interview was that I not ask him about abortion or Todd Akin – he’s the Missouri Republican who created a firestorm after saying women’s shut down in a legitimate rape to prevent pregnancy. I did ask him about health care, the female vote, and energy.”

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Akin created a firestorm over the weekend when he claimed that it was unlikely that the victim of a “legitimate rape” would become pregnant because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Akin was widely denounced for the outrageous claim and Romney quickly sought to distance himself from the embattled congressman, going so far as to say that Akin should abandon his bid for Senate in Missouri.

Democrats have attempted to link other Republicans, including Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Mitt Romney, to Akin. Lis Smith of the Obama campaign said it was “no surprise” that Romney refused to be asked about Akin or abortion.

“On Tuesday, the Republican Party officially endorsed the Akin amendment, which would ban abortion for all women, including rape victims, and Paul Ryan has struggled to explain his support for redefining rape,” she added. “Mitt Romney’s campaign might be able to muzzle reporters from asking tough questions, but women across America deserve to know the truth about Romney-Ryan’s extreme agenda.”

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