Report: Duggar family to campaign with Akin

Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), the Senate candidate who was criticized in August for his comments about abortion and “legitimate rape,” will be joined on the campaign trail this week by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, stars of the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday morning that Michelle Duggar will help at a “Missouri Women Standing With Todd Akin” event on Tuesday in Springfield, Mo., and that the family will be involved in other events Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Duggar family swore off birth control after Michelle became pregnant while she was on the pill, which they believe led to a miscarriage.

{mosads}”They prayed and asked God to forgive them, and to teach them to love children like He loves children,” the Duggars said on their website. “They asked God to bless them with as many children as He saw fit in His timing.”

The Duggars add that their goal is “to make Christ known and for others to see that the Bible is the owner’s manual for life.”

In August, while expressing opposition to abortion rights, Akin argued that in cases of rape, “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” 

That comment led to criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, with many senior GOP leaders calling for his exit from the race. Since the controversy, his opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), has managed to take the lead in polls.

The Duggars are no strangers to the campaign trail, having stumped for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) during his bid for the GOP nomination earlier this year.

The family endorsed Santorum in January and attended rallies for him in Iowa, Michigan and Alabama.