Ryan: 'Forcible' Rape Was Stock Language

After a week of deflections, Paul Ryan has finally explained the use of the term "forcible rape" in a bill he co-sponsored with controversial Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, reports the Huffington Post. Ryan told Fox that he wasn't trying to redefine rape, but it was "language that was stock language used for lots of different bills, bills I didn't author." The phrase was later removed from the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and "I agree with that," Ryan said. "Rape is rape, period, end of story." The final language in the bill, which passed the House in May 2011, would allow federally funded abortions "if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest."

The bill he co-authored and others he supported were not intended to block access to abortion, but "to stop taxpayer financing of abortion," said Ryan, who, unlike his running mate, does not believe abortions should be allowed even in cases of rape and incest. "Most Americans agree with us, including pro-choice Americans, that we shouldn't use hard-working taxpayer dollars to finance abortion," he said. Ryan will head to Tampa this morning, and he says he's been enjoying himself on the campaign trail so far. "It’s been a lot less stressful and a lot more fun than I anticipated," he said. “It’s been a real pleasant surprise." (More Paul Ryan stories.)