Scott Brown calls on Todd Akin to leave Missouri race; Romney calls rape comments “inexcusable”

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown has called for Missouri Rep. Todd Akin to drop out of the Missouri race for a Senate seat following comments Akin made regarding rape-related pregnancy, Politico reported.

Brown appears to be the first fellow Republican to call for Akin's exit from the race in what The Boston Globe called "a rare intra-party rebuke." Politico quoted Brown as having said:

"As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin's comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong. There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking. Not only should he apologize, but I believe Rep. Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri."

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During a Sunday television appearance, Akin, who strongly opposes abortion, questioned whether it's possible for a woman to become pregnant after a rape, claiming that "if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," according to the Washington Post. Akin went on to say that, in the event a woman did become pregnant from a rape, "I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

More from GlobalPost: Rep. Todd Akin: "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy

Earlier this morning, Brown had called on Akin to apologize in a comment posted to Twitter, Talking Points Memo reported:

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney also weighed in against Akin, telling the National Review Online that Akin's comments on rape "are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong.”

Akin released a statement after his comments aired on YouTube trying to walk back his comments. “In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year,” he told the Washington Post.

Watch Akin deliver his controversial comments in the video below: