Democrat John Rogers defends abortion: parents can’t handle ‘retarded’ kids, Trump Jr should have been aborted
During debate of Alabama’s criminalization of abortion, Democrat John Rogers started his opposition with standard talking points, before moving on to demean all of those born with mental illness, Down Syndrome, missing a limb and then said Donald Trump Jr. should have been aborted by his mother.
Rogers said he wasn’t “about to be a male telling a woman what to do with her body,” and then stated that: “Some kids are unwanted, so you kill ’em now or kill ’em later,” he said. “You bring ’em in the world unwanted, unloved, then send them to the electric chair. So you kill ’em now or kill ’em later. But the bottom line is, I think we shouldn’t be making this decision.”
“Some parents can’t handle a child with problems,” Rogers added, according to Alabama Political Reporter. “It could be retarded. It might have no arms and no legs.”
Trump Jr. tweeted that every 2020 Democrat presidential contender “needs to be asked where they stand” on Rogers’ “stomach curling” remarks:
“This is stomach curling and makes Ralph Northam look like a moderate on abortion. Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we’ve seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening.Donald Trump Jr.” –DonaldJTrumpJr
Rogers said it was an “honor” to be attacked by Trump Jr.
“That proves I’m right to make a scene about abortion, him being born, that’s proof right there,” Rogers said, laughing. “Him being born, that’s a very very good defense I have for abortion. His mother should have aborted him when he was born and he wouldn’t have made that stupid statement, right?
“He’s evidently retarded or crazy,” Rogers added. “Donald Trump’s son, I know there’s something wrong with that boy.”
APR noted that Rogers identifies as a “personally pro-life” Catholic.
“Representative Rogers’ remarks are chilling” and “should be condemned at the state and national level,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed responded in a statement. “Every human life, no matter how weak or small, has inherent dignity because we are all made in the image of God.”
“Sadly, vile comments like this have become par for the course for the Democrat Party,” Trump Jr. spokesman Andy Surabian responded, Mediaite reports. “They’ve become so deranged by President Trump’s victory that celebrating late-term abortion, support for eugenics and even calling for the death of political opponents is becoming their standard operating procedure.”
Rogers explained his comments on Thursday in an interview with Alabama news website AL.com. He implied that lawmakers were hypocritical for wanting to ban abortion when other policies and proposals in Alabama, such as hospital closures, mass incarceration, and forced drug testing for food stamp recipients, could result in the deaths of residents.
“The state of Alabama is killing people every day,” he said. “You’re going to tell a woman she can’t make a decision about incest and rape? She can’t have an abortion? That’s a woman’s choice.”
