The recent massive stock market crash is a sign of God's judgement on America for funding Planned Parenthood, televangelist Pat Robertson has claimed.

Speaking on his TV programme 'The 700 Club', the controversial right-wing pastor suggested that America was being held accountable for its complicity in abortion.

"Here in America, we have been complicit in terminating the lives of in excess of 50 million precious unborn children, and don't you think almighty God is going to hold us accountable for that?" he asked.

"We will pay dearly as a nation for this thing going on. And possibly if we were to stop, stop all of this slaughter, the judgement of God might be lifted from us.

"It's coming, ladies and gentleman. We just have a little taste of it in terms of the financial system, but it's going to get shaken to its core in the next few months, years or however long it takes, and it will hurt every one of us.

"It's coming down the road," he concluded, "But at least we could repent and try to change."

Robertson, who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, is no stranger to controversy. In July, he said the brutality of Islamic State in the Middle East could be "the best thing that ever happened to the world" because it is revealing the true nature of Islam.

"Maybe the best thing that ever happened to the world is for these crazies in ISIS to keep on beheading people and doing some of these extreme things," he said.

"Listen, you've heard all this business about Islam being a religion of peace. Islam does not mean 'peace', it means 'submission'."

Robertson was also widely criticised in June for suggesting that it may have been for the best that a child died because "that little baby could grow up to be Adolf Hitler, he could grow up to be Joseph Stalin, he could grow up to be some serial killer, or he could grow up to die of a hideous disease".