A candidate for sheriff in New Hampshire said Wednesday that he would be willing to use deadly force to prevent a woman from terminating her pregnancy.

“I would respond specifically by saying that if someone is under threat, a full-grown human being, if they’re under threat, what should the sheriff do? Everything in their power to prevent them from being harmed,” Frank Szabo, the Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff, told WMUR.

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When asked about using deadly force to prevent an abortion, he replied, “I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone is in danger, but again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late-term abortions, that is an act that needs to be stopped.”

Szabo has previously said he would arrest anyone involved in performing an abortion, claiming it is equivalent to murder. He told CBS News that he would only use deadly force “if there is no other choice.”

“Why is there a difference between someone who is 20 years old and their life is in danger and someone who is nine months in utero,” Szabo said.

On his Facebook page, Szabo claims that sheriffs in the United States have broad powers and are duty-bound to prevent any action they deem to be unconstitutional. He also said that as sheriff he would stop the United Nation’s sustainable development plan known as Agenda 21, which some conspiracy theorists claim is a plot to force “communitarianism” on Americans.

Republican House Speaker Bill O’Brien has called for Szabo to drop out of the race.

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