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King made his remarks as he explained his anti-abortion position
at a breakfast event in his home state of Iowa, the Des Moines
Register reported.
"What if we went back through all the family trees and just
pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would
there be any population of the world left if we did that?" King
said in remarks to 50 members of the Westside Conservative Club
during the event in Urbandale. The newspaper posted a video of
the event on its website.
"Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that
happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I
can't say that I was not a part of a product of that," he added.
Fellow Republican Representative Liz Cheney, a self-described
conservative from Wyoming, said on Twitter, "Today’s comments by
@RepSteveKingIA are appalling and bizarre. As I’ve said before,
it’s time for him to go. The people of Iowa’s 4th congressional
district deserve better."
King last November was re-elected to his ninth term in Congress
with just over 50 percent of the vote after years of
double-digit victories, after being roundly criticized for
support of candidates with white supremacist affiliations.
Democrat J.D. Scholten who lost to King last year is again
running to unseat King in 2020.
King sparked a new firestorm of controversy in January when he
asked in an interview with the New York Times why "white
supremacy" was considered offensive. In response, the U.S. House
of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution
disapproving his statements and stripped King of his committee
assignments.
King's remarks on Wednesday came in a year that a series of
Republican-controlled state legislatures passed new restrictions
on abortion intended to provoke a U.S. Supreme Court review of
the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that upheld a woman's right to
terminate her pregnancy.
The most restrictive, passed in Alabama, would completely ban
abortion with no exception for rape or incest.
King is opposed to exceptions for rape and incest in laws
restricting abortion and has tried unsuccessfully to get
legislation reflecting his position passed in the House.
"It's not the baby's fault for the sin of the father, or of the
mother," he said.
A spokesman for King was not immediately available for comment.
Several Democratic presidential hopefuls, including U.S.
Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren and
Amy Klobuchar, also urged King to resign over the controversial
comments.
"There's no place for Steve King's racism, bigotry, and hatred
in Congress," tweeted Democratic former U.S. congressman Beto
O'Rourke of Texas, who is also running for president.
Iowa state Senator Randy Feenstra, who is running against King
in the Republican primary election in 2020, called King's
comments and behavior "bizarre" on Twitter.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Scott
Malone and Leslie Adler)
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