Missouri Congressman Todd Akin is the Republican candidate for the US Senate seat of Democrat Claire McCaskill. In an interview on local TV he was asked about his opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape. "From what I understand from doctors, that's [pregnancy resulting from rape] really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down… I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment should be on the rapist and not attacking the child." Both President Obama and the Romney-Ryan campaign responded quickly and clearly to Akin's statement.