A local New Hampshire Republican running for county sheriff is comparing abortion to slavery, and says he would use deadly force on a surgeon to prevent one from taking place. Opponents and even Republicans are calling for Hillsborough County sheriff candidate Frank Szabo to withdraw from the race, and even though he has since apologized for the deadly-force comments, he is determined to stay in the race. Szabo has also said he would arrest a doctor who performed a legal abortion.
“In a local television interview, Hillsborough County sheriff candidate Frank Szabo said that he values the life of an unborn fetus so much that, when it came to elective and late-term abortions, he’d be willing to kill for it,” Think Progress reports:
But Szabo may have inflamed the issue further when asked if he would use deadly force to prevent an abortion.
“I would respond specifically by saying that if someone is under threat, a full-grown human being, if they’re under threat, what should the sheriff do? Everything in their power to prevent them from being harmed,†he said.
When pressed about what he would do if he learned that a doctor was about to perform an elective abortion, Szabo replied he would do what it took to prevent that from happening.
“Absolutely,†he said. “Well, I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone is in danger, but again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late-term abortions, that is an act that needs to be stopped.â€
Szabo is a businessman and a strict constitutionalist who believes as sheriff he could use the constitution to determine the scope of his authority. Perhaps Szabo should just run to become Scott Roeder.
Welcome to the new GOP — home to vigilantes and radical, dangerous, potentially murderous pre-criminals hoping to use public office to empower their private morality.