Va. Lawmaker: Disabled Kids are God's Punishment for Abortion

(AP / CBS)

Republican Virginia State Delegate Bob Marshall said at a press conference last week that God is taking "vengeance" on parents who have had abortions by making their other children disabled, according to the News Leader in Central Virginia.

"The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically," he reportedly said. "Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children."

"In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord," he added. "There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."

Marshall posted a statement on his Web site distancing himself from the comments.

"No one who knows me or my record would imagine that I believe or intended to communicate such an offensive notion," he wrote. "I have devoted a generation of work to defending disabled and unwanted children, and have always maintained that they are special blessings to their parents. Nevertheless, I regret any misimpression my poorly chosen words may have created as to my deep commitment to fighting for these vulnerable children and their families."

Marshall made the comments at an event calling for Virginia not to offer state funding for the group Planned Parenthood, which performs abortions.

[amusedmuse]

Poor pro-strife Republicans, always choosing "the wrong words"! Maybe we should limit their speech in the same manner that they want to limit a woman's right to choose her destiny. Then they would not have to issue these disabled apologies after aborting their first, ignorant, dick-headed statements!

[nkkuha]

What happened to separation of Church and State? Keep your religion out of politics. Not to mention, how do uneducated people make it into government offices?!

[mollydtt]

Are all anti-choice zealots this mean and unintelligent? I'm sure he also doesn't think science or especially evolution should be taught in schools.

[GeneMari]

What a lying sack of agricultural slag! This man --- and I use the term lightly --- insults people who, through no fault or their own OR their parents' are afflicted with a physical disability. He then has the hubris to say "No one who knows me or my record would imagine that I believe or intended to communicate such an offensive notion,..." Well, I don't know him and when I first heard his utterance, I was astounded that anyone would say something so mean and despicable. And he then tries to word-spin an explanation that insults my intelligence, let alone the intelligence of anyone who read or heard his 'explanation.' If he didn't intend to say those things, then he should have kept his foul mouth shut! Another example, I suppose, of constipation of thought and diarrhea of words. Seems that a number of folks on the right seem to be suffering from this malady these days!

[eytek1]

There is no known treatment for cerebral astigmatism.

[eytek1]

I'm a disabled person,since childhood,and my mother never had an abortion.I find it unfortunate and troubling that so many elected Republicans find it necessary to project their ideas as a sign of God.
As a devout Christian,and a medical technician,I take a great deal of umbridge with such unchristian and uneducated pandering to like minded
neanderthals. Sorry to offend any true decendants of that human group.

[sd_mouth]

Bob Marshall is God's justice for Virginia. Gave 'em a governor too. How the moronic republican right extremists takes advantage is awe inspiring. The repubs have exposed more stupidity and downright vicious idiocy than is comprehensible. Where it not for religious waco evangelicals, this inbreeding would end. Where do they get these candidates and even more seriously why do they get elected?
More of these people in congress and we cease to be a responsible and proper nation. We would need to give up world leadership and regroup. The Bob Marshalls of America make the US of A the laughing stock of the world. And right now we ARE.

[24zen]

I swear at least half of the GOP needs a lobotomy with the hope that somehow that will make them a tad more intelligent. They sure don't seem to manifest intelligence with a presumably intact brain! These folks are constantly spouting out nonsense that makes them even more ignorant than they already seem. How anybody can stand by a party that is anti-science, greedy, mean-spirited and superstitious as was humanity during the dark ages beats me.

[Lindag20]

Doing a little backpedaling I see. Where DO the Republicans find these losers and who votes them into office?

[Lindag20]

Mortar lives in his own strange world. He was claiming the teacher's strike in Chicago is "unconstitutional". He was spouting some nonsense about how when you work for a public entity you lose ALL your rights to organize and bargain collectively.

[RangerDan107]

So delegate Bob, we've gathered up 100 disabled children, here's the microphone. You tell them they are all punishments from God. This man is evil and doesn't know it.

[RollotheNorman]

A couple of hundred years ago the Virginia House of Burgesses had some of the most able legislators on the Continent. Look what happened in two short centuries.