Steve King: Without Rape and Incest, “Would There Be Any Population in the World Left?”

The incendiary Iowa Republican says he can’t rule out that he isn’t the product of rape or incest.

Tom Williams/Zuma

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

The twisted logic of the most extreme elements of the anti-abortion movement just got even more absurd. Laws restricting abortion access should not have exceptions for rape and incest, says Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), because throughout history, many people have been born as a result of rape and incest—including, perhaps, himself.

“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled those people out that were products of rape and incest, would there be any population in the world left if we did that?” King said at a Westside Conservative Club meeting in Urbandale, Iowa, on Wednesday, according to the Des Moines Register“Considering all the wars and all the rape and pillage that’s taken place…I know I can’t certify that I’m not part of the product of that.”

King has a history of making offensive statements about immigrants, Muslims, and transgender people. In January, he was removed from the House Judiciary and Agriculture committees for telling the New York Times, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested he resign.

On Wednesday, he asserted that women who conceive as a result of rape and incest should be forced to carry the pregnancy to term, “because it’s not the baby’s fault.”

“I’d like to think every one of the lives of us are as precious as any other life,” he said. “And that’s our measure. Human life cannot be measured. It is the measure itself against which all things are weighed.”

Watch King’s comments below:

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate