A candidate for sheriff in New Hampshire said Wednesday that he would be willing to use deadly force to prevent a woman from terminating her pregnancy. Frank Szabo, the Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff, told WMUR.
I would respond specifically by saying that if someone is under threat, a full-grown human being, if they’re under threat, what should the sheriff do? Everything in their power to prevent them from being harmed.
In the interview, the sheriff candidate said that he values the life of an unborn fetus so much that, when it came to elective and late-term abortions, he’d be willing to kill for it. When pressed about what he would do if he learned that a doctor was about to perform an elective abortion, Szabo replied he would do what it took to prevent that from happening. He says:
Absolutely, well, I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone is in danger, but again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late-term abortions, that is an act that needs to be stopped.
Toward the end of the interview, Szabo went on to compare abortion to slavery, saying that, in the case of abortion, much like slavery,
There is a difference between legal and lawful.
Sentiments like Szabo’s set a dangerous precedent. He is not alone in thinking that doctors should be blocked from providing legal abortion services — Republicans have proposed several bills that would create penalties for abortion providers — but his statements appear to a violent anger.
Republican House Speaker Bill O’Brien has called for Szabo to drop out of the race.
Watch the video HERE.
UPDATE: In a statement Thursday, Szabo retracted his “unacceptable” remarks.
I want to be clear to the people of New Hampshire that I made several comments about the use of deadly force against abortion doctors that I regret, that I apologize for and that I fully retract,” Szabo said. “In making comments yesterday, I let my passionate stance against abortion get the better of me.
Szabo made clear that if elected, he would not use deadly force against an abortion doctor.
