CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest, he said at a Tuesday night debate, because pregnancy from rape is “something that God intended to happen.” Mourdock, who is in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly, was responding to a question about whether abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest. “I know there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view, but I believe that life begins at conception,” the tea party-backed Mourdock said. “The only exception I have, to have an abortion, is in that case of the life of the mother. “I’ve struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is 
that gift from God,” Mourdock said, appearing to choke back tears. “And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” MORE
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: I’m going to need some theological clarification. Is everything that happens consonant with God’s intent? If so then on what grounds does a believer ever feel sorrow, sadness, regret or shame? On what grounds do we punish, say, rapists for acting as instruments of God in carrying out God’s will? If not, then who gets to say what occurences, if any, are “something that God intended to happen”? State treasurers such as Richard Mourdock? MORE
PAUL RYAN: Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan Monday used his first campaign stop in Indiana to do some fundraising and delivered a ringing endorsement of Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock. “Please, please send us Richard Mourdock. We need this man in the United States Senate,” Ryan told a midday crowd of more than 100 people who had paid at least $1,000 per ticket to hear him speak at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. MORE
RELATED: Mitt Romney Endorsement Of Richard Mourdock
BUZZFEED: Donald Trump is a major contributor to Mourdock.
RELATED: In an interview with SiriusXM, [ex SNL cast member turned right wing nutjob] Victoria Jackson said the entire issue with Akin’s comments was “blown out of proportion” and posits that pregnancy in the case of rape only takes place “.001 percent” of the time. According to Mediaite.com, she added, “If I got raped, I would have the baby… if I got raped and a beautiful baby who was innocent was born out if it, that would be a blessing. The DNA of a baby is individual. It’s not the mother’s DNA. It’s not the father’s DNA. And that’s why I believe abortion is murder, because it’s not the woman’s body. It has it’s own DNA. If there’s a boy baby inside of me, he has a penis. That’s not my body.” MORE
RICK SANTORUM: Well, you can make the argument that if she doesn’t have this baby, if she kills her child, that that, too, could ruin her life. And this is not an easy choice. I understand that. As 
horrible as the way that that son or daughter and son was created, it still is her child. And whether she has that child or doesn’t, it will always be her child. And she will always know that. And so to embrace her and to love her and to support her and get her through this very difficult time, I’ve always, you know, I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you. As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life. We have horrible things happen. I can’t think of anything more horrible. But, nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation. MORE
RELATED: During a debate last night, incumbent Illinois congressman Joe Walsh declared that he’s against abortion rights without exception, including life of the mother, a position on which elaborated later:
Asked by reporters after the debate if he was saying that it’s never medically necessary to conduct an abortion to save the life of a mother, Walsh responded, “Absolutely.”
“With modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance,” he said. “… There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing.” MORE
CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Between 1980 and 2007, 876 deaths were attributed to ectopic pregnancy. The ectopic pregnancy mortality ratio declined by 56.6%, from 1.15 to 0.50 deaths per 100,000 live births between 1980-1984 and 2003-2007; at the current average annual rate of decline, this ratio will further decrease by 28.5% to 0.36 ectopic pregnancy deaths per 100,000 live births by 2013-2017. The ectopic pregnancy mortality ratio was 6.8 times higher for African Americans than whites and 3.5 times higher for women older than 35 years than those younger than 25 years during 2003-2007. MORE
GOOD NEWS: Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., trails Democratic nominee Tammy Duckworth by double digits in his race for reelection, according to a new live-caller poll released Friday by an outside group involved in the campaign against him. The League of Conservation Voters commissioned the survey, which shows Duckworth leading Walsh 54 percent to 39 percent in Illinois’s 8th Congressional District. President Obama leads Mitt Romney 53 percent to 41 percent in the district’s presidential vote; Obama carried the suburban Chicago seat with over 61 percent in 2008. Anzalone Liszt Research conducted the poll for LCV and surveyed 400 likely voters from Oct. 16-18. The poll’s margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points. The League of Conservation Voters recently began a mobile billboard advertising campaign against Walsh and has also done robocalls in the 8th District. MORE