In defense of abortion ban, gov. vows to stop rape

When a reporter confronted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott with a tough question about how the state’s new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will affect victims of rape and incest, the Republican swiftly vowed to eradicate sexual assault in the Lone Star State.

“Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets,” Abbott said Tuesday.

The promise was not received well by many critics of the law, which effectively bans most abortions in the state. There are no exceptions to the six-week rule for victims of rape or incest.

“I would love to see Texas address violence against women, but that is not what this bill does,” Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, told MSNBC on Tuesday. “It’s kind of this magical thinking that’s typical of [Abbott’s] approach to governing, that he’ll give an answer that is really untethered to the reality of what he’s doing.”

The abortion ban has faced significant criticism since the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the law from taking effect last week. President Joe Biden slammed the court’s decision, and several prominent Democrats have said they will consider federal measures to secure access to abortion nationwide. The Justice Department committed to explore legal avenues to challenge the ban.

Some local governments have also pushed back against the Texas law, including Portland, Ore., which announced a plan to sever contracts worth up to $7 million per year with Texas-based businesses, the Oregonian reported.

Fletcher said she would support efforts to prioritize victims of sexual assault in Texas, which reported more rapes than the national average in 2019, by putting resources toward rape kit backlogs and other measures to combat violence. But the congresswoman said she questioned the sincerity behind Abbott’s Tuesday comments about rapists.

“We know that Texas, unfortunately, has not been making this its top priority,” she added. “It has instead made its top priority banning abortion.”