Abortion dominates second debate between Bachmann, Graves

The second of three debates between U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and Democratic challenger Jim Graves hit the ground running with the topic of abortion at the start, the St. Cloud Times reports.

Moderator Kerri Miller of MPR asked the candidates to respond to controversial remarks made by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock from Indiana. In a debate last week, Mourdock said he opposes abortion including in cases of rape because "it is something that God intended to happen."

Bachmann declined to say whether or not she agrees with Murdock's comments, the Star Tribune says, but says she's "100 percent pro-life" and agrees with the views of the Catholic Church. The congresswoman repeated her support for a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion.

Graves disagrees with Mourdock's comments and says abortion is an issue between a woman, her family and her God. "I don’t want the government to be involved in that process," he said.

The two candidates also traded barbs over a number of other topics, including health care and the auto bailout, the Pioneer Press reports.