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"I&amp;#x27;ve come to accept that from time to time, we&amp;#x27;re going to hear eyebrow-raising comments from politicians on both sides of the aisle, but this one? My eyebrows are somewhere on the back on my head right now. In 2010, Virginia State Delegate Robert G. Marshall said (see the video below) that disabled children are God&amp;#x27;s vengeance against women who&amp;#x27;ve had abortions. Marshall is currently running for Congress and as of last Thursday, per The Washington Post, the candidate is standing by this 2010 comment: &amp;quot;The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion who have handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the firstborn of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.&amp;quot; I don&amp;#x27;t even know where to start with this. It is so offensive on so many levels! Specifically to the disabled community, because if you really get to the heart of it, he&amp;#x27;s discounting them as people&amp;amp;mdash;they&amp;#x27;re just a punishment to bad women. And does he think every mom of a disabled child previously had an abortion? Or are they punishment for other perceived wrongdoing? My head is spinning. &amp;quot;There is no scientific basis for that comment. It&amp;#x27;s so out of left field that it makes no sense at all,&amp;quot; says Anne Davis, M.D., consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health. &amp;quot;Scientists and doctors are working hard to help understand how many kinds of disabilities/differences arise in children. As the science moves forward, for instance, we are understanding more about how the environment and genetics can impact development. Personally, as a parent of a child with a disability, I find it ignorant and cruel to describe a child with a disability as a punishment. As a doctor and an abortion provider, I cannot fathom how a legislator could justify such a psychologically damaging lie.&amp;quot; This is not the first time Marshall has made news with a shocking statement. The Washington Times reports that in a 1989 Boston Globe story, Marshall was about his opposition to all abortion&amp;amp;mdash;even in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. Marshall, then the research director for the American Life League, posed a baffling question of his own in response. &amp;quot;What if incest is voluntary?&amp;quot; Marshall said. &amp;quot;Sometimes it is.&amp;quot; Watch the video below for Marshall&amp;#x27;s full remarks from 2010 and let us know in the comments what you think. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2014/04/gop-candidate-bob-marshall-say>