Newt Gingrich says people should "get over" Richard Mourdock's rape comments

GlobalPost

Newt Gingrich, the former US House Speaker, said Democrats are "fixated" on an Indiana Senate candidate's remarks on rape and should "get over it."

Gingrich, speaking Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week," was commenting on Richard Mourdock's suggestion that pregnancies resulting from rape were “intended” by God.

Mourdock said during a candidates' debate last week "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something God intended to happen."

More from GlobalPost: Richard Mourdock makes controversial rape comment; Romney distances himself

Gingrich said:

"My response is, if you listen to what Mourdock actually said, he said what virtually every Catholic and every fundamentalist in the country believes, life begins at conception. Now, this seems to be fixated by the Democrats, but the radical on abortion is Obama, who as a state senator voted three times in favor of allowing doctors to kill babies in the eighth and ninth month who were born, having survived late-term abortion."

Gingrich noted that Mourdock later clarified his comments.

"He also immediately issued a clarification saying he was referring to the act of conception, and he condemned rape," Gingrich said, continuing:

"[Mitt] Romney has condemned — I mean, one part of this is nonsense. Every candidate I know, every decent American I know condemns rape. OK, so why can't people like Stephanie Cutter get over it? We all condemn rape."

Gingrich had been appearing on “This Week” following Cutter, an adviser to President Barack Obama, who according to the East Idaho News had criticized Romney for not asking Mourdock to pull an ad featuring the GOP presidential nominee.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.