Bono Mack Blasts Todd Akin for 'Legitimate Rape' Comment

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) took to her Facebook to release a statement about embattled GOP senate candidate Todd Akin.

Akin made controversial remarks in an interview that aired Sunday when he was asked why he opposes abortion when the pregnancy is the result of rape.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare,” the candidate from Missouri told KTVI-TV. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Bono Mack didn't mince words as she denounced Akin's comments on her Facebook page:

"I was appalled by Representative Todd Akin's reprehensible remarks about rape," she said. "They were offensive, demeaning, and show a tragic lack of empathy as well as a shameful lack of compassion. He could use some intensive sensitivity training, and a course in physiology wouldn't hurt, either. It’s mindless comments like this that polarize our country."

Calls have rang out throughout the Republican party -- including from presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney -- for Akin to remove himself from the race, where he's trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill. But Akin today stated on former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's radio show that he would not be stepping down. 

Bono Mack is in the midst of a battle with Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz for the newly formed 36th Congressional District seat.