OLYMPIA, Washington Tea Party politician John Koster, the Republican nominee for a hotly contested congressional seat in Washington state, says he opposes abortions, even in cases of "the rape thing," because it is tantamount to inflicting "more violence onto a woman's body." 
 
 The Snohomish County councilman made the comments during a weekend fundraising appearance in the Puget Sound city of Everett, north of Seattle, that was captured in a recording released on Wednesday by the liberal activist group Fuse Washington. 
 
 Long known as an opponent of abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, Koster was asked if there were any circumstances under which he would approve of terminating a pregnancy. 
 
 "When a mother's life is in danger ... I'm not going to make that decision," he replied, before going on to talk about incest and rape. 
 
 "Incest is so rare, I mean, it's so rare. But the rape thing, you know, I know a woman who was raped and kept her child, gave it up for adoption. She doesn't regret it. In fact, she is a big pro-life proponent," he said in the recording. 
 
 He continued by asking a rhetorical question: "But on the rape thing, it's like, how does putting more violence onto a woman's body and taking the life of an innocent child that's a consequence of this crime, how does that make it better?" 
 
 The remarks drew sharp criticism from the campaign of his Democratic foe, former Microsoft executive and state revenue director Suzan DelBene - a spokesman said it showed Koster to be "out of touch" - and from abortion-rights supporters. 
 
 "There are far too many extreme politicians out there that are trying to be involved in a woman's personal medical decisions about her pregnancy," Sara Kiesler of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 
 
 The flap marked the latest instance of a Republican congressional candidate stirring controversy with comments about abortion and rape. 
 
 Richard Mourdock, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Indiana, said during a debate last Tuesday that pregnancy from rape was "something that God intended to happen." And Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin in August caused an uproar by saying women have natural defenses against pregnancy from "legitimate rape." 
 
 In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, Koster's campaign accused DelBene supporters of engaging in "dirty tricks" by circulating the recording of his remarks, and suggested his words were taken out of context. 
 
 "The recording was done secretly, then edited to suit DelBene's agenda," campaign manager Larry Stickney said. "The insinuation that John Koster is in some way 'callous or 'cavalier' when it comes to the subject of rape is another example of the vicious and desperate tactics ... employed to slander the good name of John Koster." 
 
 During his term as a state lawmaker, Koster sponsored tough "two strikes, you're out" legislation to lock up violent sex offenders permanently, his website said. 
 
 The race between Koster and DelBene for Washington state's newly drawn first congressional district seat, vacated by Democrat Jay Inslee when he resigned to run for governor, is considered a tossup. 
 
 Koster, a former dairy farmer with close affiliations with and support from the Tea Party movement, has lost two previous bids for the U.S. House of Representatives. 
 
 (Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Walsh) 

 October 31, 2012 at 2:36 PM 
 
 Congressional candidate John Koster has been very squeamish in recent weeks when talking publicly about his views on abortion. The Republican is a longtime foe of abortion rights, but on a KING-TV appearance he sidestepped questions about how he would vote, saying he would uphold the current law. 
 
 “My personal beliefs are my personal beliefs on abortion,” he told Robert Mak on Up Front. 
 
 But Fuse Washington, a liberal organization based in Seattle, secretly audio-taped Koster speaking frankly about abortion over the weekend at an Everett fundraiser. They say his comments are “disturbing.” 
 
 On the tape, an activist with Fuse asks Koster whether there is any situation in which he would “agree” with abortion. He responds that he would make an exception for the life of the mother, but not for rape or incest, and describes his thinking in detail, using the phrase, “the rape thing” twice. 
 
 “Incest is so rare, I mean it’s so rare. But the rape thing, you know, I know a woman who was raped and kept the child, gave it up for adoption and doesn’t regret it. In fact, she’s a big pro-life proponent. But, on the rape thing it’s like, how does putting more violence onto a woman’s body and taking the life of an innocent child that’s a consequence of this crime, how does that make it better?” 
 
 The activist says, “Yeah, but she has to live with the consequences of that crime.” 
 
 And Koster responds, “Yeah, I know. I know crime has consequences, but how does it make it better by killing a child?” 
 
 Koster’s campaign manager, Larry Stickney, said the candidate has nothing to hide. 
 
 “Consider that John was at a dinner with many people trying to get his attention, yet his words were still thoughtful and heartfelt,” Stickney said. “He very clearly and honestly stated his thoughts on an extremely sensitive subject. He has nothing to be ashamed of here.”
– The latest fallout over a Republican candidate's views on rape and/or abortion: A Seattle-area congressional nominee has dubbed abortions after rape "more violence onto a woman's body." Tea Party candidate John Koster was caught on tape noting that as to cases when the life of the mother is at stake, "I'm not going to make that decision," Reuters reports. "But on the rape thing, it's like, how does putting more violence onto a woman's body and taking the life of an innocent child that's a consequence of this crime, how does that make it better?" He added: "I know crime has consequences, but how does it make it better by killing a child?" the Seattle Times reports. Koster's Democratic opponent, Suzan DelBene, calls the comments "out of touch." Koster's website now says DelBene supporters were up to "dirty tricks" with the tape, released by a liberal activist group. "The recording was done secretly, then edited to suit DelBene's agenda," Koster's campaign manager says. "The insinuation that John Koster is in some way 'callous' or 'cavalier' when it comes to the subject of rape is another example of the vicious and desperate tactics ... employed to slander the good name of John Koster."