Kentucky Republican Likens Abortions For Rape And Incest Victims To Murdering Mother’s Hypothetical Killer

States across the country have passed restrictive abortion laws that don’t include exceptions for rape or incest, and in an effort to solidify themselves with social conservatives, Republican candidates are being more vocal about their extreme opposition to abortion in virtually every circumstance.

In Kentucky, where a restrictive abortion bill failed this year, state Senate President and Republican gubernatorial nominee David Williams used an odd analogy to make it clear that he opposed abortions even in cases of rape or incest. In an interview with the Louisville Courier-Journal’s editorial board this week, Williams likened such abortions to his hypothetical desire to seek vengeance if someone had shot his mother:

Williams said he opposes abortion even for cases of rape and incest, and he likens it to murder: “If somebody shot my mother, I would want to kill them, but I don’t think that is the appropriate thing to do. We have laws against murder.”

Positions like Williams’ are clearly unconstitutional and create the absurd situation where a woman who has already been a victim of a crime would have no choice or control over her own body. Unfortunately, though, they’re becoming more and more common among conservatives, from state legislatures where Republicans claim women will fake rapes to qualify for abortions to the party’s presidential race, where candidates have advocated sending doctors who perform abortions for rape and incest victims to prison.