Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says Rape Victims Can Take ‘Morning After’ Pill After Enacting Abortion Ban

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said that rape victims can take a Plan B pill instead of having an abortion.

“We want to support those victims, but also those victims can access health care immediately, as well as to report it,” Abbott said during a pre-taped Sunday segment on KXAS-TV (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News‘ Lone Star Politics. “By accessing health care immediately, they can get the Plan B pill that can prevent a pregnancy from occurring in the first place. With regard to reporting it to law enforcement, that will ensure that the rapist will be arrested and prosecuted.”

A Texas trigger law fell into place last month following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which returned the right to the states to vote on their own laws regarding abortion. The law bans abortions after six weeks, which is before most women know they’re pregnant. There are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

The Plan B pill, which is emergency contraception also known as the “morning after” pill, is still legal.

The pill contains a synthetic hormone called levonorgestrel, which stops the release of an egg from the ovary. It can also stop the fertilization of the egg by the sperm. Even if fertilization occurs, it can sometimes prevent the fertilized egg from attaching to the womb.

Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who’s challenging Abbott for his seat in November, criticized the governor.

“Greg Abbott signed the most extreme abortion ban in the nation with no exception for rape or incest,” O’Rourke campaign spokesman Chris Evans said. “Meanwhile, Texas leads the nation in rape offenses on his watch, and the arrest rate for rape has fallen by nearly half since he took office as he allows over 3,000 untested rape kits to collect dust in his state crime labs.”

Though Evans’ statement is correct, it should be noted that numerous other states, including Alaska, have had more rapes per capita than Texas.