Ben Carson compared abortion to slavery in an interview on Sunday, adding he would only support terminating a pregnancy in the "extraordinarily rare" case where the life of the mother was at risk.
Carson's comments were part of an interview with NBC's Meet the Press and expanded on his previous statements on the issue. He said abortion should not be an option for unwanted pregnancies or in situations of rape or incest.
"I'm a reasonable person and if people can come up with a reasonable explanation of why they would like to kill a baby, I'll listen," Carson said.
Carson then compared abortion to slavery.
"During slavery, a lot of the slaveowners thought they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave, anything that they chose to do," he said. "What if the abolitionists had said, 'I don’t believe in slavery, I think it’s wrong, but you guys do whatever you want to do.' Where would we be?"
Moderator Chuck Todd also asked Carson if he would support overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that determined abortion as a right.
"Ultimately I'd love to see it overturned," Carson said.