Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Sunday that he believed abortion should be outlawed even in cases of rape and incest.
Carson, who likened the procedure akin to slavery, said on NBC’s Meet the Press that he would love to see the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, overturned, according to USA Today.
“I would not be in favor of killing a baby because the baby came about in that way,” Carson said on the program,” referencing “the many stories of people who have led very useful lives who were the result of rape or incest.”
“During slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave,” added the retired brain surgeon turned politician. “Anything that they chose to do. And, you know, what if the abolitionist had said, you know, ‘I don’t believe in slavery. I think it’s wrong. But you guys do whatever you want to do.’ Where would we be?”
Carson has not shied away from what some may deem as insensitive comments in the past, having previously invoked Nazi Germany in making analogies to the current health care system and gun legislation. He recently defended his claims that Nazis could rise again in the U.S. if access to guns were restricted, per Politico.
Carson has run an impeccable campaign thus far, pulling level with GOP frontrunner Donald Trump in recent polls in Iowa, showing that his comments have done little to hamper his campaign.