Planned Parenthood said Thursday that while the group is “disgusted” by Alabama Democrat Rep. John Rogers’ “reprehensible” remarks about abortion, the real problem with them is they are serving as a “complete distraction” from the “death sentence” that an abortion ban would mean for women in the state.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates joined in a statement in response to Rogers’ recent comments as he opposed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state.

“Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later,” he said. “You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later.”

“We are disgusted and deeply offended by the most recent comments from Representative Rogers,” said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates. “Not only were his remarks reprehensible, they are a complete distraction from the real work still left to be done in this state. The people of Alabama deserve better.”

She continued:

Our state suffers from a dire OBGYN shortage, skyrocketing infant and maternal mortality rates, and more deaths from cervical cancer than anywhere else in the country. Now we face an outright abortion ban that would be a death sentence for even more Alabama women.

As we speak, Alabamians are dying from real public health problems that need our attention and we will not allow one man’s repulsive rant to distract us from the real issues at hand.

The Alabama House overwhelmingly approved a measure Tuesday that would ban most abortions in the state, save for those that would serve to save the life of the mother.

Lawmakers in the House voted, 74–3, to approve the legislation after most Democrats walked out of the chamber, refusing to vote.

Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said while “Americans are justly outraged by John Rogers’ vile comments,” still “we should be no less outraged by the reality that abortion kills children.”

“Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, violently ends the lives of more than 332,000 unborn children each year and receives half a billion dollars a year in taxpayer funding,” she asserted, adding:

Furthermore, ‘Kill them now or kill them later’ sums up the extreme agenda of Democratic Party leaders who support abortion on demand through birth and won’t even protect babies who survive abortions from infanticide. Condemning the messenger and not the brutality of abortion is pure hypocrisy.

Other observers noted that while Rogers’ comments were indeed “outrageous,” still he is the rare abortion rights proponent who acknowledges that abortion “kills” a “kid.”

For example, Alexandra Desanctis wrote at National Review:

While Rogers’s defense of abortion is certainly chilling, it’s also a striking reminder of how rarely abortion-rights activists openly admit the reality of the right they are demanding. Most often, they dismiss unborn human beings as a “clump of cells” or a parasite within the mother. With his horrifying comment, Rogers has exposed those lies, admitting, as abortion defenders so rarely do, that every abortion procedure — no matter when or how it takes place — intentionally ends an innocent human life.

Similarly, Madeline Osburn wrote at The Federalist that “most abortion providers and supporters prefer euphemisms such as ‘termination’ and sell the ‘procedure’ as ‘health care.’”

“Unlike Planned Parenthood and others profiting from the abortion industry, Rogers described abortion as what it really is: killing a baby,” she asserted.

Democrats have even turned their backs on babies who survive abortion, Dannenfelser pointed out.

“Nearly 200 members of Congress have signed a discharge petition filed by House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) to hold a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” she noted. “House Democratic Party leaders have refused more than 35 requests by members to vote on the bill. If a majority of representatives sign the petition, it will force a vote by the full House.”