WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney says it is sad that President Barack Obama's campaign is stooping to the low level of trying to link Rep. Todd Akin's statements about abortion to the entire GOP.

Akin is the Missouri Senate candidate who said women's bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy after a "legitimate" rape. Romney and other GOP leaders have criticized those statements and urged Akin to drop out of the Senate race.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on "Fox News Sunday," Romney called Akin's statements outrageous and offensive.

And in response to Democratic efforts to cast their party as more helpful to women, Romney said he was able to help women by passing a health care overhaul law when he was Massachusetts governor.