Iowa Republican Representative Steve King defended banning abortion on Wednesday by questioning whether humanity would exist without rape or incest.
According to the Des Moines Register, while speaking to the Westside Conservative Club, King said the following:
“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”
King was reportedly making these comments while defending a bill he supported in Congress which would ban abortion even in cases of rape or incest. (RELATED: Steve King Loses Committee Seats Over Remarks About ‘White Supremacy’)
Many, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Cory Booker, are all calling for King to resign over his statement.
Iowans have long deserved better than Steve King and his hateful, insulting words. He should resign.
We can show him it’s time to go by donating to the guy who will beat him—my inspiring friend @JDScholten: https://t.co/v3Kd7Y9JCV https://t.co/g6cgOswmjp
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 14, 2019
.@SteveKingIA: You are a disgrace. Resign. https://t.co/Tbu1e1mZ9O
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) August 14, 2019
Steve King is a racist, a misogynist and a disgrace to the country. He should not be a member of the United States Congress. https://t.co/QZbXSEFpdw
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 14, 2019
This past January the Iowa Representative found himself in hot water when he told the New York Times, “white nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
Following that remark, he was denounced by many high-level Republicans and stripped of his House committee assignments.