Romney: My views on abortion rights are clear 
 
 (CBS News) In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, Mitt Romney said his views on abortion rights are more lenient than those put forward in the Republican party platform. 
 
 "My position has been clear throughout this campaign," Romney said. "I'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother." 
 
 The Republican Party is gathering in Tampa, Fla., this week for its national convention, where in addition to nominating Romney for president, the party will officially adopt its national platform. Last week, the party added language to the platform calling for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with no mention of making exceptions for victims of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother. 
 
 Republican Convention 2012: complete coverage 
 
 President Obama in an interview Saturday said that if Romney were president, the Republican would not "stand in the way" if Congress attempted to strip women of their reproductive health rights. Democrats have recently stepped up their attacks against the GOP ticket on the issue of reproductive rights, in part because of the strong views held by Romney's running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, and in part because of the controversial remarks GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin made on rape and abortion. 
 
 Romney, however, told Pelley that the issue amounts to a distraction. 
 
 "Recognize this is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court," he said. "The Democrats try and make this a political issue every four years, but this is a matter in the courts. It's been settled for some time in the courts." 
 
 More from the interview: 
 
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 Pelley also asked Romney about changes in the Republican party since the height of his father, George Romney's, political career and about how Romney is confronting the perceived enthusiasm gap in the GOP. 
 
 Watch the full interview segment below. Additional excerpts will air during CBS News' primetime coverage of the Republican National Convention, Tuesday, August 28 through Thursday, August 30, beginning at 10 p.m. ET each night. ||||| Republican Mitt Romney said Monday that he is in favor of abortion in cases of rape, incest and the health and life of the mother. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife Ann, arrive at Brewster Academy, for convention preparations in Wolfeboro, N.H., Aug. 27, 2012. The Romneys envision... (Associated Press) 
 
 The presidential candidate's addition of the health of the mother is certain to raise questions about his position among conservatives. Health can be broadly defined and, in fact, running mate Paul Ryan has challenged the health exception as a major loophole. 
 
 Romney commented in an interview Monday with CBS News. 
 
 Romney's position on abortion rights has evolved. When he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, he backed abortion rights. As a presidential candidate, he has opposed abortion rights and says the Supreme Court should reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. 
 
 In a statement, Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Romney's position is clear _ that he opposes abortion except for cases of rape, incest and where the life of the mother is threatened. ||||| A revised version of this post is available here. 
 
 The Obama campaign on Wednesday quickly seized on abortion and rape comments made by the Indiana Republican Senate candidate in an attempt to entangle the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, in a politically charged issue threatening to brew into a firestorm like the one that followed comments by Representative Todd Akin. 
 
 In a Senate debate Tuesday night, Richard Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer, tried to distinguish himself from two opponents who also oppose abortion, explaining why he does not accept an exception for pregnancies conceived by rape. 
 
 “I’ve struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God,” Mr. Mourdock said. “And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” 
 
 On Wednesday morning, continuing to press a Democratic narrative that depicts the Republican Party as out of step with women, the Obama campaign sharply criticized the remarks. 
 
 President Obama “felt those comments were outrageous and demeaning to women,” Jen Psaki, the president’s campaign spokeswoman, told reporters Wednesday morning. “It is clear that Mitt Romney, that many Republicans who are running for office including him, including Mr. Mourdock, have very extreme positions on issues that women care deeply about,” she said, warning that women should be concerned if Republicans win both the White House and Senate. 
 
 Mr. Mourdock’s statements could singe Mr. Romney, who cut a television advertisement, released on Monday, endorsing Mr. Mourdock. 
 
 During her briefing with reporters, Ms. Psaki called it “perplexing” that Mr. Romney had not demanded that his endorsement ad be taken down from Indiana television. Mr. Romney supports abortion in the case of rape, incest and when the health of the mother is at risk. 
 
 The Democratic National Committee has tried to draw attention to the endorsement with a new video featuring a montage of debate footage. 
 
 Republicans had already tried to contain the fallout, strongly pushing back on the suggestion that Mr. Mourdock condoned rape. 
 
 Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, claimed that Mr. Mourdock’s position was no different from that of Representative Joe Donnelly, the Democratic candidate in the unexpectedly tight contest. 
 
 “Richard and I, along with millions of Americans — including even Joe Donnelly — believe that life is a gift from God. To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous,” Mr. Cornyn said in a statement. “In fact, rather than condemning him for his position, as some in his party have when it’s come to Republicans, I commend Congressman Donnelly for his support of life.” 
 
 But the rape-and-abortion theme is threatening to push the close Indiana Senate race into the realm of the Missouri Senate race, another campaign that was supposed to favor Republicans before the Republican candidate, Todd Akin, defended his opposition to abortion in cases of rape and threw the contest off kilter. The incumbent Democrat in Missouri, Senator Claire McCaskill, is now expected to hold her seat. 
 
 During the Indiana debate, Mr. Mourdock’s comment did not yield much of a response from Mr. Donnelly, but other Democrats pounced. And Mr. Mourdock released a statement to clarify, “God creates life, and that was my point. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick.” 
 
 Republicans noted that Mr. Donnelly, an Irish Catholic whose base is in South Bend, the home to University of Notre Dame, co-sponsored controversial legislation in 2011 that would have changed the federal ban on abortion funding to exempt conceptions from “forcible” rape, not just rape. The Mourdock campaign said this backing showed Mr. Donnelly believes pregnancies from statutory rape or incest should have to be carried to term. 
 
 Mr. Donnelly had said, earlier this year, that he was not aware that Republican authors of the bill had added the “forcible” language and was glad when an outcry forced them to remove it. 
 
 Mr. Cornyn tried Wednesday to change the subject. 
 
 “This election is about big ideas and the reality that our country is going in the wrong direction,” he said in a statement. “If you support Obamacare, government bailouts, reckless spending and higher taxes than you should vote for Joe Donnelly. But if you believe, as I do, that our government is too big, our taxes are too high, and we are passing an irresponsible debt onto future generations, than Richard Mourdock is your candidate to help get our country back on track.” 
 
 Mr. Mourdock beat Senator Richard Lugar, a six-term moderate, in the Republican primary in May.
– On the eve of his nomination, Mitt Romney restated his position on abortion—and it's not the same as that of his party or his running mate. "My position has been clear throughout this campaign," he told CBS. "I'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother." At its storm-shortened convention this week, the Republican Party will officially adopt a national platform calling for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion, with none of the exceptions Romney currently favors. Romney's position on abortion rights has evolved over the years, notes AP. He favored abortion rights during his bid for a US Senate seat, but opposed them during the Republican primaries. He described the issue as a distraction in last night night's interview. "Recognize this is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court," he said. "The Democrats try and make this a political issue every four years, but this is a matter in the courts. It's been settled for some time in the courts."