Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a staunch opponent of abortion rights, drew an eyebrow-raising comparison on the issue invoking the Holocaust at the annual "March for Life" in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
"We believe Roe v. Wade has led to a three-and-a-half decades-long holocaust in the United States of America, and it amounts to a stain on our national conscience, and it's time for it to end," said the conservative senator at the event, ABC News reports.
Wicker said that his presence at the rally was rooted in his conviction that the landmark Supreme Court ruling "is bad law."
According to The Hill, the Republican senator signaled his intention to introduce legislation this week that defines life as beginning at conception.
The bill currently has five co-sponsors -- Republican Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Roy Blunt (Mo.) -- with more expected to join after the bill is formally introduced. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) introduced companion legislation in the House last week.
The strict measure would reportedly provide legal protection for fetuses. Wicker suggested that passage would come as a significant step in the larger pro-life fight to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to Mississippi-based station WLOX.
The AP reports on the "March for Life":
More than three dozen lawmakers addressed the crowd during a rally to start the annual "March for Life." The lawmakers, buoyed by Republican gains in the House in November, called for the landmark court decision to be overturned and said they would work to restrict tax dollars for abortion.
"We stand with you for life," Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking House Republican, told the marchers. "Thanks to your support last November, there's a new majority in town."
Cantor said the new group of Republicans in Congress is the "biggest and the most pro-life freshman class in memory."