A Republican candidate running for sheriff in New Hampshire has been forced to apologize for saying he would use "deadly force" to keep a doctor from performing abortions, a statement that drew comparisons to the Todd Akin rape comment in Missouri now plaguing the GOP.
Frank Szabo, a candidate backed by the tea party for Hillsborough County sheriff, apologized for the remark on Wednesday, according to the
Boston Globe, saying it was "inexcusable" and that he regretted allowing his "passionate stance against abortion to get the better of me."
"I want to be clear to the people of New Hampshire that I made several comments about the use of deadly force against abortion doctors that I regret, that I apologize for, and that I fully retract," Szabo said.
Szabo added, “While I maintain that abortion is unlawful because it strips the right to life from a helpless unborn child, I recognize it is legal, and for that reason deadly force against an abortion doctor is not justifiable.”
The Republican made his initial comments on his willingness to stop abortion doctors with deadly force if necessary during a television interview on Wednesday, the Globe noted.
Szabo is challenging a fellow Republican for the job, incumbent Sheriff James Hardy, in the state's most populous county, which borders Massachusetts and runs north through Manchester.
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