Obama calls Missouri Republican rape comment "offensive" and "way out there"

"The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me. So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians a majority of who are men making health care decisions on behalf of women," Obama told reporters.

Akin, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said in a television interview on Sunday that women have biological defenses to prevent pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape," making legal abortion rights unnecessary.

On the streets of New York, several women weighed in on the politician's controversial statements.

"To me he is living on La-La land. I mean really? What man can tell a woman to do whatever with her body. You know what I'm saying? That's just ridiculous. The whole statement was just totally ridiculous," Kerri Thompson from New Jersey said.

"I think he is a little old and a little antiquated in what today's thinkings are. And for him to say women have biological defenses against that is a little bit -- no," Nancy Duffy from Connecticut said.

Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney, who polls show trails Obama with women voters, denounced Akin's comments, and some of Akin's fellow Republicans called on him to resign.

The furor put the party's focus squarely on social issues, where Romney, who supported abortion rights when he was governor of Massachusetts, has had to tread carefully with religious conservatives.

Akin said he misspoke. He apologized but had no plans to resign from the Senate race.