A Washington state candidate for the U.S. Congress says abortion should not be legal, even when it involves "the rape thing."
A liberal advocacy group provided audio to The Associated Press on Wednesday in which Republican hopeful John Koster says he does not oppose abortion when the life of the mother is in danger. Speaking at a fundraiser Sunday, Koster adds that he would oppose abortion in cases of rape or incest.
Koster twice uses the phrase "the rape thing" in the recording, saying it doesn't make the situation better by "putting more violence into a woman's body."
Koster spokesman Larry Stickney says Koster is not cavalier about the issue and supports tough punishments for sex offenders.
The Republican hopeful is locked in a competitive congressional race against Democrat Suzan DelBene in Washington's newly redrawn 1st District, which covers an area north and west of Seattle.
A SurveyUSA poll last week had DelBene leading by 3 percentage points.