Republican congressman questions whether humanity would have survived without rape and incest

U.S. Rep. Steve King is defending his call for a ban on all abortions by questioning whether "there would be any population of the world left" if not for births due to rape and incest.

Speaking Wednesday before a conservative group in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, the Iowa congressman reviewed legislation he has sought that would outlaw abortions without exceptions for rape and incest.

King said, "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? 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."

The Des Moines Register reports that the Republican added, "It's not the baby's fault for the sin of the father, or of the mother."

A King spokespersondidn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is not the first time King has drawn criticism for his comments. Earlier this year, he wasblocked from committee assignments for the next two years after lamenting thatwhite supremacy and white nationalism hadbecome offensive terms. Both Republicans and Democrats denounced what they said were part of a years-long pattern of racially insensitiveremarks.