— David Gutman (@davidlgutman) February 6, 2015
Delegate Brian Kurcaba made the controversial comment during a meeting to discuss state abortion legislation.
“Obviously rape is awful, but what is a beautiful is the child that could come from this.”
The West Virginia House of Delegates was discussing legislation that would ban abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill was passed last year by the same body, only to be vetoed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
This time around, state Republicans voted to delete an exemption written into the bill for victims of rape and incest.
Kurcaba's remark drew rather predictable ire on social media:
— Morgantownie(ish) (@WVMorgantown) February 6, 2015
— @facisback™ (@facisback) February 6, 2015
— Don't Be Rude (@jodmentum) February 6, 2015
Kurcaba later apologized “to anyone who took my comments about the sanctity of human life to mean anything other than that all children are precious regardless of circumstances.”
“Legitimate Rape”
Kurcaba’s remarks join a long list of comments made in recent years by male conservative politicians that many have found offensive — and many women voters have reacted by revoking their support at ballot boxes.
Who could forget former Missouri Rep. Todd Akin’s 2012 remark that pregnancy can’t come from what he called “legitimate rape” because “the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”
Then there was Richard Mourdock, an Indiana Senate candidate, who said that pregnancies resulting from sexual assaults should be considered a “gift from God.”
In 2013, GOP leaders urged their colleagues to stop talking about rape altogether, as comments like these were offending female voters.
Apparently Kurcaba didn’t get the memo.
