“We know the reasons why we don’t except exceptions, for most of us, for rape and incest, because it’s not the baby’s fault,” King told an audience at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa. “But there’s another, I sort of wonder about this. What if it was okay and what if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled those people out that were products of rape and incest. Would there be any population in the world left if we did that?”

“Considering all the wars and all the rape and pillage that’s taken place,” the congressman continued. “I know I can’t certify that I’m not part of a product of that, and I’d like to think any one of the lives of us are as precious as any other life.”

King’s remarks precipitated swift condemnation from Democrats as well as members of his own party, who called the comments “appalling.”

“These comments are wrong, and offensive, and underscore why we removed him from his committees,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said.