(Newser) – Republican Rep. Trent Franks took the opportunity to say that he thinks African Americans were better off under slavery.

Trent Franks

Slavery “is a crushing mark on America’s soul,” Franks said in an interview with a conservative blogger. “And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery. And I think, ‘What does it take to get us to wake up?’”