Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) -- A Democratic candidate for governor in Nevada has sparked a controversy by suggesting he would back a ban on abortions should the Supreme Court overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that ushered in an era of 44 million abortions.

In a television interview, Jim Gibson, the mayor of Henderson, Nevada, said he believes abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger from the pregnancy. He said he'd back a state law if Roe is overturned.

"I believe that abortion is an alternative in the circumstances I described, and that would be the kind of legislation -- if it ever came to that; I don't even imagine it will -- that's the position I would take," Gibson explained.

"I'm never going to be putting myself in a position where the things I really think and believe are at odds with what we would enact," he added.

Gibson's comments immediately drew a harsh response from a primary opponent, State Sen. Dina Titus of Las Vegas, who said Gibson was "imposing his will on the people of Nevada."

"He's out of step with the majority of Nevadans," Tutus said, adding, "Nobody likes abortion. But if it has to be considered, it should be done by the woman in consultation with her doctor, her family and her God, not the state Legislature."

A Gibson spokesman later clarified his position and said he would not be the one to propose an abortion ban.

Gibson spokesperson Greg Bortolin on Friday said Gibson was only relating his stance on abortion.

"I can say unequivocally he would not propose legislation [outlawing abortion]," Bortolin said, according to a Reno Gazette-Journal report. "He would never go along with criminalizing abortion. If he is guilty of anything, it is of being honest about his personal beliefs on abortion."