Todd Akin issues apology — for having apologized about 'legitimate rape' comment

Former Rep. Todd Akin (R) famously destroyed his candidacy in the 2012 Missouri Senate race when he dismissed the issue of abortion in cases of pregnancies resulting from rape, saying: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Now, in his upcoming book, Politico reports, Akin does state one of his regrets from the whole controversy: That he publicly apologized for the remark, in a TV ad.

"By asking the public at large for forgiveness, I was validating the willful misinterpretation of what I had said," Akin writes. Instead, in his book Akin continues to stand by the claim — which is rejected by the medical community — that pregnancy can be prevented in cases of sexual assault. "Doubt me? Google 'stress and infertility,' and you will find a library of research on the subject."

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Here is the actual TV ad to which Akin is referring, which was released in late August 2012, in which he stated: "The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness." --Eric Kleefeld