Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is asking supporters to help defend him against the "taxpayer-funded abortion lobby" that is attacking him for his remark that pregnancy rates from rape are "very low."
"NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the taxpayer-funded abortion lobby is attacking me for one reason -- I'm 100 percent unapologetically pro-life and I won't back down," Franks wrote to supporters in an email, the Arizona Republic reports. "Will you contribute $25, $50, $100, or even $500 right now to help me fight back?"
“Now they will spend whatever it takes to destroy me, remove me from Congress, and stop me from protecting any more unborn children," he continued.
Franks was referring to comments he made during a House Judiciary Committee debate on his bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks. Democrats were pushing an amendment to create an exception for rape or incest, which ultimately failed. “Before, when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject — because, you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low,” Franks said, the Washington Post reported.
From the Arizona Republic:
Franks said his critics had taken his comments out of context and were using the controversy, which reverberated through news outlets and social media, to distract from “real issues” related to his legislation.
He told The Arizona Republic that he had meant that the number of pregnancies resulting from rape and carried past 20 weeks is low.
Franks also appealed to attendees at the annual Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington, D.C. last night, Politico reports: “Believe me, I’ll tell you what, I’ve been through a spin dryer here in the last 48 hours and I wish I hadn’t assisted them so much to that end. But somehow in the long run, truth and time travel the same road. And we are very blessed that the Lord that we serve will prevail in the final analysis no matter what.”
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