(MCT) — WASHINGTON — In an election that increasingly is a battle for women’s votes, the Obama campaign seized on a provocative claim about abortion and rape by a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Indiana, arguing that it shows Mitt Romney does not support women’s reproductive rights.

Richard Mourdock’s comment that a pregnancy after rape is “something that God intended to happen” created an unexpected opening Wednesday for Democrats, who called on Romney to denounce the statement. The controversy created an unwanted distraction for the GOP nominee, who had endorsed Mourdock and taped a TV ad for him.