Yesterday, Marco Rubio went on national television to reaffirm his awful anti-abortion beliefs to the public. And of course, to confirm that humans are not, in fact, cats.

The defense comes in the wake of last week’s GOP debate, during which Rubio affirmed his stance against abortion even in the case of rape or incest. But first, Rubio made sure to point out that, while economic policies may evolve—scientific understandings? Those are timeless.

I believe all human life, regardless of the circumstances of coming into being, is worthy of the protection of our laws... I’m always going to err on the side of life. And I think that’s a timeless principle. Surely our economy has evolved, but when it comes to issues like the value of human life, that’s timeless.

I apologize for this, but he does go on.

The value of life is timeless. The idea that human life is worthy of the protection of our laws is not something that, over time, anyone should evolve on. I mean, you can change your economic policies if the economy’s different.

CNN New Day host Chris Cuomo, who must have done something terrible to deserve this, then attempts to explain to the petulant child in a suit that science has not actually come to a conclusion.

Rubio begs to differ. “Let me interrupt you. Science has—absolutely it has. Science has decided... Science has concluded that—absolutely it has. What else can it be?”

And then.

“It cannot turn into an animal. It can’t turn into a donkey. The only thing that that can become is a human being.”

Brief, stunned silence.

“Senator,” Cuomo says, baffled. “I understand that, but it’s oversimplifying it a little bit.... It having a DNA map—so does a plant. It’s about when it becomes a human being.”

Rubio’s dead, lightless eyes blink back at us. What does that have to do with donkeys, he wonders.

“It begins at conception,” Rubio offers.

“That’s your faith. That’s not science.”

“Yes it is,” counters Rubio.

Cuomo’s eyes begin to bleed. He suggest calling in scientists to explain otherwise.

Rubio is undeterred. “Well, if they can’t say it will be human life, what does it become then? Could it become a cat?”

He chuckles. He made a funny joke. He tweets it.

America weeps.


Contact the author at ashley@gawker.com.