Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson got himself into a murky puddle when he tried explaining his thoughts on whether abortion is allowable in cases of rape and incest.

Neil Cavuto of Fox News asked Dr. Ben Carson if his pro-life position would include an exception for rape and incest.  Carson’s answer:

Well in cases of rape and incest I would hope that they would very quickly avail themselves of the emergency room and in the emergency room they have the ability to administer RU-486, other possibilities. Before you have a developing fetus.

Then Cavuto asked whether the doctor believes that life begins at conception.  Carson’s answer:

Um, certainly once the heart starts beating. Certainly at that point. I mean we, we, this is something that we need to come to accommodation on. Now if we are willing to open up the discussion -- both sides -- I think we can come to an accommodation. We’ll ever come to accommodation as long as we come off in our prospective corners, [and say] “absolutely not.

In another interview on the same topic, Carson told Chris Wallace of Fox News:

When conception occurs, life occurs. But I do believe in contraception. And at the appropriate time, you have to know what the cycle is. The egg is only fertilizable at certain times. And there are certain types of drugs, progestins that can prevent ovulation. So let’s say someone has been raped, and they’re administered that drug, it can prevent ovulation which allows that egg that can come down, and that healthy sperm can live up to five or six days, but if ovulation doesn’t occur, you’re not going to have conception.

Can’t have it both ways.  Either life begins at conception or it begins at the first heartbeat.  If it begins at conception, according to Dr. Carson, then using RU-486 functions only after fertilization by preventing the attachment of a fertilized ovum to the uterine wall.

 Thus, his suggestion to administer the abortion pill in the emergency room wouldn’t work.

If life begins at the first heartbeat (22 days post conception), then does Carson think it’s okay to abort the fertilized egg during the first three weeks of life?