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TAMPA, Florida, November 19, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Dr. Ben Carson has been in the center of a firestorm since a Florida newspaper reported that he referred to the Terri Schiavo case as “much ado about nothing.”

Yesterday morning, in a comment sent exclusively to LifeSiteNews, Dr. Carson said his remarks had been “taken out of context and misinterpreted.”

“When I used the term 'much ado about nothing,' my point was that the media tried to create the impression that the pro-life community was nutty and going way overboard with the support of the patient,” Dr. Carson told LifeSiteNews yesterday.

Some pro-life leaders remained uneasy after hearing his explanation, and numerous LifeSiteNews readers said they wished they could see a full recording of the exchange.

Today, reporter Adam C. Smith of the Tampa Bay Times posted a full transcript of the question he posed at a press conference on Saturday:

Q: Dr. Carson, a few years ago when Gov. Bush was in charge of the state, he and the Florida legislature moved to overturn the court decision on Terri Schiavo to force the feeding tube to be reinserted. What was your view of that as a doctor at the time?
CARSON: Well, I said at the time, “We face those kinds of issues all the time and while I don't believe in euthanasia, you have to recognize that people that are in that condition do have a series of medical problems that occur that will take them out.” And your job is to keep them comfortable throughout that process and not to treat everything that comes up.

Q: Did you think it was appropriate for congress and the legislature to –
CARSON: don't think it needed to get to that level. I think it was much ado about nothing. Those things are taken care of every single day just the way I described.