Republican presidential candidate and neurosurgeon Ben Carson claimed Thursday that “the number one cause of death for black people is abortion,” and stood by comments he made in August that the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, wanted to eliminate black people.
During an appearance on Fox News' “The O’Reilly Factor,” Carson said Sanger wrote about eugenics and she “was not enamored of black people.”
“I encourage people to go and read about Margaret Sanger and go and read about the beginnings of this organization so that you know what you’re dealing with,” Carson said.
When talking about the number of abortions happening in black communities, Carson said, "I wonder if maybe some people might at some point become concerned about that and ask, 'Why is that happening?'"
Carson has recently made several comments reflecting his opposition to Planned Parenthood. Appearing on Fox News' “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on Wednesday, Carson said, “One of the reasons you find most of their clinics in black neighborhoods is so that you can find ways to control that population.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading causes of death for African-Americans are heart disease, cancer and stroke. Abortions are not listed in the report.
"The CDC would not list abortion at all, because legally the fetus is not considered a life. Therefore, there would be no listed death," Carson's campaign said in a statement.
Carson also addressed reports that he used aborted fetal tissue for research during his medical career. He dismissed the allegations, saying, “All pathology departments will have a whole array of tissues, from day one of conception until 99 years old. ... Just because they get the fetal tissue does it mean they should throw it out? Of course they don't. That's how science is advanced."
Watch the video above.
This story has been updated with a comment from Carson's campaign.