Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson likened abortion to slavery and said he is not on favor of exceptions for cases of rape of and insect.
When host Chuck Todd asked, “Does life begin at conception?”
Carson said “I believe it does.”
Todd followed up, “Who’s right should be superseded? The mother or the unborn child? Who has greater rights?”
Carson answered, “This the ideal situation the mother should not believe that the baby is her enemy. And should not be looking to terminate the baby. You know, things are set up in such a way that the person in the world who’s the greatest interest in protecting the baby is the mother. We’ve allowed the purveyors of the vision to make mothers think that that baby is their enemy and that they have a right to kill it. Can you see how perverted that line of thinking is?…Think about this. During slavery — and I know that’s one of those words you’re not supposed to say, but I’m saying it — during slavery a lot of the slave owners thought they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave. Anything that they chose to do. And what if the abolitionists 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 was then asked about the landmark 1972 Roe v. Wade case, to which he said he would like to see it overturned.
Carson said “Ultimately, I would want to see it overturned.”
When Todd pushed, “Does that mean all abortions illegal or there an exception you would have?” Carson replied, “I’m a reasonable person and if people can come up with a reasonable explanation of why they would like to kill a baby, I’ll listen.”
Todd continued asking about in the case of the life and health of the mother being in danger?”
Carson said, “Again, that’s an extraordinarily rare situation, but if in that very rare situation occurred there’s room to discuss that.”
When asked about abortions in the case of rape and incest, Carson said, “Rape and insist I would not be in favor killing a baby because the baby came about in that way. And all you have to do is go and look at the many stories of people who have led very useful lives who were the result of rape or incest.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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