U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, speaks during a town hall meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019, in Boone, Iowa. King is defending his call for a ban on all abortions by questioning whether 鈥渢here would be any population of the world left鈥� if not for births due to rape and incest. Speaking Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, before a conservative group in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, the Iowa congressman reviewed legislation he has sought that would outlaw abortions without exceptions for rape and incest. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DES MOINES, Iowa 鈥� A U.S. legislator has defended his call for a ban on all abortions by questioning whether there would be 鈥渁ny population of the world left鈥� if not for births due to rape and incest.
Speaking before a conservative group in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale on Wednesday, Iowa Rep. Steve King reviewed legislation he has sought that would outlaw abortions without exceptions for rape and incest. King justified the lack of exceptions by questioning how many people would be alive if not for those conceived through rapes and incest.
鈥淲hat if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled those people out that were products of rape and incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?鈥� King asked, according to a video of the event, which was covered by The Des Moines Register. 鈥淐onsidering all the wars and all the rape and pillage that鈥檚 taken place 鈥� I know I can鈥檛 certify that I鈥檓 not a part of a product of that.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the baby鈥檚 fault for the sin of the father, or of the mother.鈥�
A King spokesman didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The nine-term Republican congressman, who represents a sprawling, largely rural 39-county district, has been criticized repeatedly for comments he has made over the years, especially on issues related to race and immigration.
Shortly before the November 2018 election, The Washington Post reported that King met in Austria with the far-right Freedom Party, a group with Nazi ties. King said the meeting was with business leaders, including one person from the Freedom Party, but the newspaper stood by its story.
Soon after the election, King was quoted in a New York Times story saying, 鈥淲hite nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization 鈥� how did that language become offensive?鈥� The comments were denounced as racist and led the House to vote 424-1 to rebuke King. Republican leaders also stripped him of his committee assignments.
Although King has usually breezed to victories in the conservative 4th Congressional District, he narrowly won his last election over Democrat J.D. Scholten.
This year, several candidates have said they will challenge King for the Republican nomination, including conservative state Senator Randy Feenstra. Scholten also recently announced he would again run for the seat.
After King鈥檚 comment Wednesday, Feenstra said in a statement, 鈥淚 am 100% pro-life but Steve King鈥檚 bizarre comments and behavior diminish our message & damage our cause.鈥�
Scholten also criticized King.
鈥淵et again, Steve King puts his selfish, hateful ideology above the needs of the people of Iowa鈥檚 4th District. Excusing violence 鈥� in any way 鈥� is entirely unacceptable,鈥� Scholten said in a statement.
In a tweet, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership, called King鈥檚 comments 鈥渁ppalling and bizarre鈥� and added, 鈥渋t鈥檚 time for him to go.鈥�
Several Democratic presidential candidates noted King鈥檚 comments and urged people to contribute to Scholten鈥檚 campaign.
鈥淵ou would think it would be pretty easy to come out against rape and incest,鈥� one of the presidential candidates, Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement. 鈥淭hen again, you鈥檇 think it鈥檇 be pretty easy to come out against white nationalism.鈥� /kga