Todd Akin's rape remark angers GOP women CAMPAIGN 2012 Republican's comment aids Democrats' attack

Harmeet Dhillon in her Post Street lawyers offices. Harmeet Dhillon, GOP candidate for California State Senate, is shocked by the comments of Missouri representative Tod Akin and expects him to resign. Harmeet Dhillon in her Post Street lawyers offices. Harmeet Dhillon, GOP candidate for California State Senate, is shocked by the comments of Missouri representative Tod Akin and expects him to resign. Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Todd Akin's rape remark angers GOP women 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Jillian Manus Salzman, a powerhouse donor to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and a proud pro-choice Republican, said she screamed when she heard Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, say that victims of "legitimate" rape rarely get pregnant.

"I was so appalled, so angry - I can't tell you," said the Atherton literary agent and philanthropist who has co-hosted major Romney fundraisers in the Bay Area. "His opinion is not just hurtful to others. It's dangerous."

Salzman is among scores of Republican women, pro-choice and antiabortion alike, who were revulsed by Akin's eye-popping comments, which were broadcast Sunday on a St. Louis television station and set off a political firestorm Monday.

GOP officials called for Akin's resignation, with Romney calling the comments "deeply offensive." At the same time, the National Republican Senatorial Committee pledged to withhold funding for his campaign.

California Republican U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken, who is antiabortion and the challenger to incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, was horrified by Akin's remarks, which she called "outrageous and indefensible."

As the mother of two daughters, "I condemn his offensive statements in the strongest possible language," she said in a statement issued Monday.

Comments broadcast

Until this week, Akin had been mounting a strong challenge to incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. His troubles began when he was asked in a TV interview whether he could support abortion in the case of rape.

Akin, a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said: "From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down."

He added that the rapist should be punished, but there should be no thought of "attacking the child" if conception occurred. A 1996 study by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology estimated the U.S. rape-related pregnancy rate to be 5 percent among victims from 12 to 45 years old.

After an avalanche of scorn over Akin's use of the term "legitimate" to describe rape and his apparent ignorance of female reproductive basics, Akin said Monday he "misspoke" and apologized. But he did not suspend his campaign.

"I am in this race to win," he tweeted Monday. Tuesday is the deadline in Missouri for nominees to pull their names from the ballot in time for their parties to select replacements.

Ammo for Democrats

The firestorm, which comes little more than a week before Republicans gather for their national nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., handed Democrats a timely opportunity to reprise their "Republican war on women" theme on reproductive-rights issues from contraception to abortion.

The strategy has helped give President Obama a 54-to-39 percent "gender gap" lead over Romney among women voters, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday.

At the same time, fallout from Akin's comments allowed Democrats to suggest parallels between the reproductive-rights positions of Akin and Romney's running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who is devoutly Catholic and opposed to abortion, even in the case of rape.

Romney's campaign acknowledged Ryan's antiabortion views this week, but campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told the Los Angeles Times that "a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape."

California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, called Akin's comments "beyond outrageous" and "another chapter in the war on women that is increasingly dangerous for women's health and lives."

Party embarrassment

San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon, head of the city's Republican Party and a candidate for state Senate, said she was appalled by Akin's comments and "embarrassed for my party that we have a candidate like that."

Dhillon, who is challenging Sen. Mark Leno, the incumbent Democrat, said there is a difference between a person whose religion teaches that life begins at conception - and who may oppose abortion in all cases - and Akin's indefensible comments regarding "legitimate" rape.

Romney donor Salzman called for the GOP presidential ticket to "step up and start to talk to women in a positive way" about the Republican agenda on women's issues.

Romney and Ryan, she said, must use the opportunity to "get out there and create a true message for women" that includes addressing the concerns of pro-choice, moderate women like herself who are concerned about reproductive rights, education and immigration reform.

The presumed GOP ticket should say, " 'We're not marginalizing you. We're not waging war on you. Here's what we value,' " she said. In the November election, Salzman added, "the deciding vote is the women's vote."