Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Since she seems to imagine herself the scold of anything that might be offensive about disabled children -- anything said by Democrats, at least -- one wonders if she'll be chiming in on this heinous claim by a Virginia state legislator that God punishes women who've had abortions by making their later children disabled in some way.
"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," said Marshall, a Republican."In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."
What say you, Sarah?
Politics
Comments
Does that mean Sarah aborted her first pregnancy? That's ok, it's only bad when liberals do it, like teen pregnancy, which was obviously admirable when daughter Bristol did it.
Posted by: James Hanley | February 25, 2010 9:08 AM
I imagine she won't say anything, she's too busy preparing for her appearance on Letterman's Tonight Show. I'm sure it will be a hard-hitting, solidly journalistic interview. But then, I'm also sure that unicorns can fly.
Posted by: Herod the Freemason | February 25, 2010 9:32 AM
You gotta hand it to this Virginia success story; When confronted with his words, he was somehow able to miraculously cause them to disappear from anywhere that might have recorded them. Thus, no one was able to contradict his denial of every saying such a base and detestable thing, though he is sorry for some vague "poorly chosen" statement made in the past.
Posted by: trog69 | February 25, 2010 9:45 AM
Does Marshall cite any studies or statistics?
I expect that he got his information from UIDR (University of I Don't Remember), same source as Glenn Back's.
Posted by: Reverend Rodney | February 25, 2010 10:09 AM
Yes, the paper he references is from "Nature: Things I pulled out of my ass." One of their lesser known satellite publications. Coincidentally, empirical proof of the divinity of Christ is in the same issue.
Posted by: taqman | February 25, 2010 10:17 AM
I can easily imagine you'd find such an effect if you dodn't control for the age of the mother. People who abort their first pregnancy likely are older on average at the time of first pregnancy carried to term.
Posted by: Ace of Sevens | February 25, 2010 10:19 AM
Any special punishment suggested would need to be brought against the Lord for that one famous killing of the firtborn. Some may have heard of it.
Times must have been hard in egypt for the subsequent generations. No handicapped parking spaces. Building big ramps up the sides of the pyramids.
Posted by: rpsms | February 25, 2010 10:54 AM
Every Planned Parenthood clinic that attracts protesters (not all do) knows of at least one protester who's availed themselves of PP's abortion services for themselves, a daughter, niece, or a friend. (I would not be the least surprised if Marshalls family has done so.) The rationalization is always "my abortion is moral, but those for other women are not." That describes Sarah Palin perfectly. She's moral but others are not. The attitude just reeks or hypocrisy, but then hypocrisy has fertile soil among the Christian right.
Posted by: Keanus | February 25, 2010 10:54 AM
What is your source for that? The few women I've known or heard of who protested at an abortion clinic after having themselves had an abortion said or were quoted as saying they very much regretted having had their abortion.
Posted by: JuliaL | February 25, 2010 12:03 PM
Maybe Palin should be paged on the Red State Hypocrisy Phone instead.
I'm sure she would say he was just being sarcastic.
Posted by: Blue Nine | February 25, 2010 12:06 PM
Rodney @ 4 asks rhetorically and responds:
That's funny. However his real answer when asked that was even funnier, he quoted the Bible as his source - circular logic at its finest.
Posted by: Michael Heath | February 25, 2010 12:09 PM
I'd be surprised if she said a damn thing. As she's amply demonstrated in the past with her reaction to Rahm Emmanuel vs. her non-response to Rush Limbaugh, she's a mite selective about airing moral outrage.
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | February 25, 2010 12:12 PM
Here is a great comment I found on the Think Progress link:
A.S.S.B.A.G.
Another Stupid Statement By A Gop.
Posted by: Blue Nine | February 25, 2010 12:14 PM
BlueNine:
I like this one better
Another
Stupid
Statement
From
Unbelievably
Clueless
KKKristian
Spokesclown
Posted by: democommie | February 25, 2010 12:44 PM
I'm guessing @ 14 is a democommie original.
Posted by: Michael Heath | February 25, 2010 1:01 PM
So, basically Marshall is saying that women who aborted their first pregnancy might as well terminate all of their pregnancies afterwards, because #2 and onward will be disabled or deformed or something?
Posted by: Tommykey | February 25, 2010 1:04 PM
When confronted with his words, he was somehow able to miraculously cause them to disappear from anywhere that might have recorded them. Thus, no one was able to contradict his denial of every saying such a base and detestable thing, though he is sorry for some vague "poorly chosen" statement made in the past.
Trog69, that reminds me of a scene from the miniseries "V" many years ago. The human rebels set off a bomb at a news conference being given live on the air by the aliens. So what did the aliens do? They simply did a taped news conference and claimed that the one people had watched with the bombing was faked footage put out by the resistance to try and make the aliens look bad.
Posted by: Tommykey | February 25, 2010 1:07 PM
@JuliaL: There's this...
http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html
...but it's completely anecdotal. Still vomit inducing, though.
Posted by: Captain Mike | February 25, 2010 1:08 PM
I nearly threw up when I read what Marshall said. It brought back memories of Marie Killilea's account (in Karen) of being thrown out of the house of some idiot who believed that she and her husband were "bad" and "dirty" because they had a disabled daughter.
I wonder what Marshall's parents did that was so bad that they were cursed with such a damaged piece of work for a son.
Posted by: Julie Stahlhut | February 25, 2010 9:37 PM
Remember folks, don't use the R-word. Instead, use "Palin-American".
Posted by: Brent | February 25, 2010 10:49 PM
#3 @trog69 He hasn't made every record of it dissapear, but not for lack of trying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VODxVQcF_yw
#4 @Rodney In the video he says his belief was confirmed by a study done at Virginia Commonwealth University. I'm sure there's a study. I'm even more sure that it doesn't back up his claims. Hopefully some enterprising person will be able to track down what study he's referencing.
Posted by: dean | February 25, 2010 10:58 PM
dean - your wish, my command (well the abstract anyway)
http://jech.bmj.com/content/62/1/16.abstract
Dingo
Posted by: DingoJack | February 26, 2010 12:26 AM
DingoJack, that study indicated the increased risk of low birth weight and pre-mature birth.
Bob Marshall is saying, instead, that it leads to women giving birth to conservatives.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | February 26, 2010 2:36 AM
MO - Wow! a Republican politican opens his mouth and [gasp] lies come out,
hoodathumkit? - Dingo
----
You'll also note that the paper says nothing about a vindicitive, petty, totally imaginary sky daddy either.
Posted by: DingoJack | February 26, 2010 6:51 AM
$arah doesn't need to FAKE outrage THIS week, she will be on Leno...maybe next week when things get slow again.
Posted by: DEO | February 26, 2010 12:28 PM