Comments on the abortion of Alabama's representative, John Rogers, could divert the debate

A representative of the Democratic State of Alabama shocked the country's listeners this week when he spoke out against the abortion ban by saying that " some children are not wanted, so you have to kill them now or later. "

"You bring them to the unwanted, unloved world, and then you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later, "said state representative John Rogers on Tuesday, apparently speaking of black children in Alabama.

Rogers opposed a bill banning abortion in Alabama and providing for up to 99 years' imprisonment for abortion providers. The bill was passed Tuesday by the Republican-controlled House and now moves to the Senate, according to CNN.

Rogers' comments, which were captured on video by the local WVTM news channel, have drawn criticism from observers from all walks of life.

"Not only were his remarks reprehensible, but they completely diverted the real work that remained to be done in that state," Staci Fox, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement to the press on Thursday. "The people of Alabama deserve better."

Donald Trump Jr., meanwhile, describes the comments on Twitter Rogers then elicited negative reactions by calling him "retarded" and claiming that he should have been aborted.

Rogers' comments came just months after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, sparked a national controversy with confused comments about an abortion bill in his state. Northam said that after the birth of a baby, parents and doctors could have a "discussion" about what to do next, which some critics considered to be supportive to infanticide. His remarks have contributed to a wave of bills aimed at protecting abortion "survivors" across the country, who, according to proponents of abortion rights, could criminalize doctors. Meanwhile, total abortion bans, like the one in Alabama, are also increasing across the country, as are "heartbeat" bills that could ban the procedure by six weeks.

It is unclear whether Rogers' comments will be the same as those of Northam. But they seem to have had the opposite effect of the intended effect – to draw criticism on the cause of the right to abortion and to shift attention away from problems, including the lack of "mental health". access to health care, which kills Alabamians.

Rogers was trying to defend the right to abortion. Instead, he created a fire storm on a national scale.

Rogers, who has represented the 52nd Alabama District at the State House since 1982, spoke in the House on Tuesday against Alabama HB 314, which would make the practice of abortion a Class A crime in that state. The bill does not include exceptions for rape or incest.

He began his inflammatory remarks by talking about black children in the state who are taken from their parents by child protection services and end up committing crimes, going to jail and being executed.

"They have problems and we electrocute them," he said. "Whether you kill them early or later, it does not matter."

Rogers also said that the decision to have an abortion should be "the choice of the woman" and that "some older men should not sit and not tell a woman what to do with her body".

The reaction to Rogers' comments about the murder was quick.

"Rogers' remarks are chilling", said The Majority Leader of the Senate of Alabama, Greg Reed in a statement Wednesday. "His comments should be condemned at the state and national level."

"Americans are shocked by John Rogers' vile remarks, but we should not be less shocked by the fact that abortion kills children," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, chair of the Susan B. anti-abortion group. Anthony List, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that "every Democratic presidential candidate must be invited to make a name for himself," Rogers said.

Rogers, who did not respond to Vox's request for comment, explained its comments Thursday in an interview with AL.com, Alabama's news site. He suggested that legislators were hypocritical about banning abortion while other policies and proposals in Alabama, such as hospital closures, mass incarceration and mandatory drug testing. recipients of food stamps, could result in death of residents.

"The state of Alabama kills people every day," he said. "Are you going to tell a woman she can not make a decision about incest and rape? She can not abort? It's a woman's choice. "

But Rogers was more aggressive in responding to Trump Jr. in an interview with WVTM.

"His mother should have aborted him when he was born and he would not have made that stupid statement," Rogers said. "He is obviously delayed."

"Unfortunately, such vile comments like this have become commonplace for the Democratic Party," a spokesman for Trump Jr. said in response, according to Newsweek. "I hope all elected Democrats in the country have the decency and moral courage to disavow these grotesque statements from party members."

Democrats and abortion rights groups have disavowed these comments. Alabama Democrat Senator Doug Jones tweeted that Rogers "does not speak on behalf of the people of Alabama".

"As we speak, Alabamians are dying of real public health problems that require our attention and we will not allow a repulsive momentum to distract us from the real problems of the moment," said Fox, president of Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates.

Rogers' comments are extremely difficult in the abortion debate

Rogers' comments are reminiscent of Northam's comments in January on a bill that would have expanded the circumstances under which a patient could have an abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy.

In an interview on the abortion bill, Northam was asked to respond to a state legislator's statement that the bill would allow abortion if a woman gave birth (experts say abortion during work hardly ever happens, and the legislator then ").

"If a mother is giving birth, I can tell you exactly what would happen," said the governor. "The baby would be delivered. The baby would stay comfortable. The child would be resuscitated if that was what the mother and family wanted, and a discussion ensued between the doctors and the mother. "

The comments were confusing and some thought the governor approved infanticide, although a spokesman told Vox that it was "absolutely not" the case. Northam's comments were the subject of a national controversy and contributed to a Senate vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have required doctors to provide the same care to a community. born infant alive after an unsuccessful abortion attempt. infant born at the same gestational age. Critics said the bill could hinder physicians' ability to practice and was unnecessary because babies are already protected by existing laws.

The bill failed, but similar projects were proposed at the state level. President Trump has repeatedly referred to Northam's remarks in his speeches as part of a misleading claim that doctors across the country were slaughtering babies after birth.

It's hard to know if Rogers' comments will have the same power to stay. But they come at a time when the country's legislators are pushing bills like the one in Alabama. Eight states have implemented a total ban on abortion, and many others have passed or are considering "heartbeat" bills that prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. which can go up to six weeks of gestation.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court is widely seen as a potential deciding vote to overthrow Roe v. Wade, and advocates on both sides of the abortion issue are preparing for a future in which abortion rights are no longer protected at the national level.

Abortion rights advocates say Rogers is right on one point: Alabamians are dying for lack of access to health care. But, they argue, the ban on abortion in the state would make matters worse.

"Prohibiting abortion care will put women's lives at risk in a state that already has some of the worst health outcomes for women in the country," Leana Wen, president of the state, said in a statement. Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "If the politicians who impose the ban attach great importance to the lives and well-being of their constituents, they would attack cervical cancer rates in Alabama, a maternal and child mortality crisis, and a shortage of gynecologists, which include country. "

With his comments, Rogers seems to have intended to highlight the crises facing the people of his state. But he may have rather drawn attention to his own words, at a time when the debate on the right to abortion is exceptionally controversial and where the stakes are exceptionally high.