Sigh.

Virginia state Delegate Bob Marshall (R) released a statement today, expressing regret for any "misimpression" that he may have caused during a press conference about defunding Planned Parenthood, when he declared that an increased number of disabled children is a "vengeance" from nature for prior abortions by their mothers.

What Marshall said at a conference last Thursday was, “The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children."

He explained that birth defects were the "special punishment" women got for having abortions because in the Old Testament, the first born was dedicated to the Lord, so aborting your first born was like aborting the Lord. Or something.

Marshall is co-sponsoring a budget amendment in Virginia to eliminate state funding for "Planned Barrenhood" in Virginia—even though the women's health clinic only receives state funding from Medicaid reimbursements, and medicaid in Virginia follows the federal standard of only funding abortions in the case of rape, incest, or a life-endangering pregnancy.

• White Power?

Though not new, the God complex Marshall employs is a weird one. Christians like Marshall feel they can make outrageously unfounded, stupid statements—God caused the Haiti earthquake because of a Haitian pact with the devil to overthrow French rule, God caused hurricane Katrina because of the gays, God created unicorns as a symbol of white power (NSFW?)—and the only people who can call assholes like Marshall out without being dismissed as abortion-happy tramps (and the heathens who love them) are other Christians, good Christians who can play their own, more reasonable God cards. Sadly, it never seems like there are enough good Christians loudly condemning stupidity like this.

In a subsequent interview with TPM, Marshall did not back away from his words and cited articles in medical journals, which he claimed showed an increased rate of cerebral palsy, low birth weights and premature births among women who have had prior induced abortions.

"This is nature. It's the same thing if you're talking about getting drunk. If God made nature, and made alcohol with certain characteristics, He's not to blame for me getting drunk and getting in a car and killing someone," said Marshall, also adding: "This is the order of nature. You do these things, you pay consequences. That's not controversial."