State Del. Bob Marshall (R-VA) declared last week that an increased number of disabled children are a punishment from nature, taking “vengeance” for prior abortions by their mothers.
“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” Marshall said at a press conference on Thursday, calling for an end to state funding of Planned Parenthood, the Capital News Service reports.
“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord,” Marshall added. “There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”
Marshall, a staunch social conservative, has introduced the same bill every year to defund Planned Parenthood. Abortion is his key issue and he has been known to use graphic language when discussing the issue, including carrying around plastic fetuses to show the phases of pregnancy. He has also opposed the birth control pill, calling it “tiny abortions.” Most of Marshall’s bills had companion Senate legislation. Ken Cuccinelli, now the state’s attorney general, was often the sponsor of those bills in the Senate when he served as a legislator.
Gay activists have long targeted Marshall as a bigot for his incendiary language. They once organized a protest at his home, for his role in sponsoring the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment that also forbids private contracts that would grant privileges similar to marriage.
During one legislative session about five years ago, Marshall proposed a budget amendment that said no university receiving state funds could offer “sex teaching,” relating to human sexuality courses and extracurricular activities similar to the SexFest 2003 at James Madison University, which he had protested. “If you have to put the word dildo in the budget to get some attention, then do it,” he said when introducing the measure.
Additional reporting by Christina Bellantoni
Late Update: In an interview with TPM, Marshall insisted that he does not believe all birth defects are a punishment from God. He did, however, cite medical journals that he claimed showed an increase in the number of disabilities based on prior abortions. He also put out a press release: “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.”
