Forced Births for 10 Year Olds: The Trumpublicans Promote Child Rape!
David Shasha
Fox News Host Jesse Watters Suggested 10-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Abortion Was a ‘Hoax’ Before Arrest
By: Matt Wilstein
On Monday evening, Fox News host Jesse Watters spent the opening segment of his primetime show suggesting the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion after she was raped was fabricated to benefit a left-wing agenda. The following night, Tucker Carlson straight-up called her story “not true.”
On Wednesday, that girl’s alleged rapist was arrested.
After laying out the details of the “heinous story,” Watters played clips of CNN and MSNBC hosts, as well as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, pointing to the girl’s dire situation as an example of why abortion bans without exception are so harmful. “This isn’t some imagined horror. It is already happening,” Biden said in his remarks. As they spoke, Fox News ran phrases like “Media Ran With Story of 10-Year-Old Pregnant Girl” and “Kamala Has Been Fooled Before” in the lower third of the screen.
“Obviously this is a heartbreaking story,” Watters said, before echoing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem by wondering aloud, “Why isn’t anybody asking about bringing the child rapist to justice?”
Watters said that his show “decided to investigate this alleged child rape, but we quickly found out that authorities in Ohio haven't even begun a criminal investigation into the rape,” adding, “This doesn't make any sense. No one reported this child rape to law enforcement?”
“You would think the story of a sexual abuser roaming free assaulting 10-year-olds would raise quite a few concerns in small-town Ohio, but no one seems to be doing anything about it,” he said later. “No one even knows anything about it. Local media outlets aren't even alerting the public. There's a monster on the loose and from what we can find, no local newspaper or TV station picked up the story.”
The host even suggested that doctor who originally reported the pregnancy by rape was avoiding the press and accused her of having a “history of not reporting abuse cases to the police.”
“So where do we stand?” Watters asked at the end of the segment. “If there’s a 10-year-old child abuser out there on the streets of Ohio, he needs to be brought to justice. And if so-called doctors are covering up child rape, they need to be prosecuted. But if this horrific story isn’t accurate and the abortion doctor and the Indianapolis Star are misleading us? And the mainstream media and president of the United States seizing on another hoax? Then this is absolutely shameful. And fits a pretty dangerous pattern of politically timed disinformation.”
But while Watters and his team had “no luck” confirming the story, his Fox News colleague Aishah Hasnie did report on Tuesday that “according to a source close to the situation, an arrest warrant is expected soon in the Ohio 10-year-rape case,” while at the same time accusing Dr. Caitlin Bernard of committing a HIPAA violation by disclosing the story at an abortion rights rally. And yet it was after that report aired that Tucker Carlson baselessly claimed on his highly rated primetime show that it “turned out that story was not true.”
The next day, The Columbus Dispatch did the reporting required to confirm on Wednesday that 27-year-old Gershon Fuentes was arrested on Tuesday after confessing to raping the child on at least two occasions.
According to Detective Jeffrey Huhn, authorities were “made aware of the girl’s pregnancy through a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mother on June 22.” She underwent an abortion procedure in Indianapolis eight days later.
Of course, Watters was far from the only right-wing figure to dismiss the story as too horrific to be real.
On Tuesday, Watters’ Fox News colleague Dan Bongino shared the segment on various platforms with the caption, “Yet Another MAJOR Liberal Media Story Is Looking Like B.S.” And former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox News to compare the story to everything from “Russia collusion” to the Jussie Smollet case, calling it “too rich to verify.”
“There is no shortage of 10-year-old rape victims,” Fox host Emily Compagno said in that same segment. “There are so many monsters out there. What I find so deeply offensive, they had to make up a fake one.” Similarly, the Wall Street Journal editorial board published an op-ed with the headline “An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm,” which referred to the case as a “fanciful tale.”
Even Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Watters during an interview on Fox News this week that he had not heard a “whisper” about the case since it was first reported and later said it was likely a “fabrication.”
Justin Baragona contributed additional reporting.
From The Daily Beast, July 13, 2022
An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm
By: The WSJ Editorial Board
All kinds of fanciful tales travel far on social media these days, but you don’t expect them to get a hearing at the White House. That’s nonetheless what seems to have happened Friday as President Biden signed an executive order on abortion.
With Vice President Kamala Harris and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra nearby, Mr. Biden repeated a tale making the rounds on social media in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade. He said a 10-year-old girl he didn’t identify by name was forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana to have an abortion because Ohio now prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is discovered. The girl had been raped, he said, and Ohio law now includes no abortion exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
Mr. Biden grew agitated as he spoke: “Ten years old. Raped, six weeks pregnant. Already traumatized. Was forced to travel to another state. Imagine being that little girl. Just—I’m serious—just imagine being that little girl.”
Imagine, indeed. The tale is a potent post-Roe tale of woe for those who want to make abortion a voting issue this fall. One problem: There’s no evidence the girl exists. PJ Media’s Megan Fox was first to point this out, and so far no one has been able to identify the girl or where she lives.
The claim originated in a July 1 Indianapolis Star piece headlined, “Patients head to Indiana for abortion services as other states restrict care.” Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist, told the paper’s medical reporter that after the Ohio ban went into effect she’d fielded a call about the girl from a “child abuse doctor” in the Buckeye State. The 10-year-old soon “was on her way to Indiana to Bernard’s care.” Presumably Dr. Bernard performed an abortion.
Medical professionals have a duty to report child rape to law enforcement, but Dr. Bernard won’t say where the alleged crime occurred or identify the Ohio doctor who referred the case. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News on Monday that his office had heard “not a whisper” of such a crime from prosecutors, police and sheriffs in his state. You may not be surprised to learn that Dr. Bernard has a long history of abortion activism in the media.
What we seem to have here is a presidential seal of approval on an unlikely story from a biased source that neatly fits the progressive narrative but can’t be confirmed. The abortion debate is intense and passions run high. But the American people deserve better from their President than an unproven story designed to aggravate those passions.
From The Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2022
Abortion story difficult to confirm, too extraordinary to ignore
By: Esther Wickham
The Indianapolis Star published a piece on July 1 about a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was six weeks pregnant from a rape. Because the state of Ohio forbids abortion after six weeks, her doctor contacted a colleague, and the young girl traveled to Indiana to obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard's clinic.
The story went viral; many thought this exposed the consequences of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It sounded terrible — how could someone force a 10-year-old girl to have a baby?
Even President Joe Biden had to comment on this story. “It was reported that a 10-year-old girl was a rape victim — 10 years old — and she was forced to have to travel out of state to Indiana to seek to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life.”
But the story seemed to have some holes.
“The only source cited for the anecdote was Bernard,” the Washington Post reported. "She’s on the record, but there is no indication that the newspaper made other attempts to confirm her account." Other newspapers caught on to the story and “did not follow up to confirm her account.”
Since this is a child rape case, all of the doctors involved would have been legally required to report it. A criminal investigation would have been opened. Bernard would not disclose her colleague's name or the location where everything took place, so attempting to find the facts is a shot in the dark at this point.
“As a spot check, we contacted child services agencies in some of Ohio’s most populous cities, including Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo," the Washington Post reported. "None of the officials we reached were aware of such a case in their areas."
Is the story true? We don't know. If it is true, then this wouldn't be the first time an abortionist in Indiana helped cover up a child rape by failing to report. Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, who became famous after he died for other reasons, was fined and had his medical license suspended in 2016 for a variety of charges, including the failure to report the rapes of two 14-year-olds. During his disciplinary hearing, he voluntarily admitted to taking a 10-year-old girl from Indiana to Illinois, aborting her baby, and failing to report the rape. The girl's parents were refusing to prosecute because the perpetrator was her uncle.
And if it isn't true? An abortionist such as Bernard has every incentive to exaggerate the story and downplay a procedure that kills an innocent baby. Confirmation bias is real, and some people will believe anything if it bolsters their own ideology.
As the Washington Post concludes, this type of story is also hard to fact-check due to laws and journalistic standards that require respecting the privacy and security of the young girl.
Assuming he is real, the immediate capture and confinement of a rapist who impregnates 10-year-olds seems far more urgent, by any standard, than aborting this girl's baby. As long as people know about this criminal and fail in their duty of care to report the incident, how is anyone supposed to believe this story?
You don't have to identify or harass this poor girl, if she exists, to bring charges against a demonstrably dangerous child rapist. For a story like this one, one self-interested source is really not sufficient proof, especially when there are so many loose ends.
Esther Wickham is a summer 2022 Washington Examiner fellow.
From The Washington Examiner, July 12, 2022
Ohio man charged in rape of 10-year-old that led to Indiana abortion
By: Tony Cook, Bethany Bruner, Monroe Trombly, and Dayeon Eom
A man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl, whose travel to Indiana to seek an abortion attracted international attention following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, whose last known address was an apartment in Columbus, Ohio, was arrested Tuesday after police say he admitted to raping the child on at least two occasions. He's since been charged with rape and is being held on a $2 million bond.
Columbus police were made aware of the girl's pregnancy through a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mother on June 22, Det. Jeffrey Huhn testified Wednesday morning at Fuentes' arraignment.
On June 30, the girl underwent a medical abortion in Indianapolis, Huhn said in court Wednesday, according to the Columbus Dispatch, a Gannett sister paper that has been working on the story with IndyStar.
The timeline given by police coincides with the account Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis physician who provides abortion services, shared with IndyStar for a story that published earlier this month.
Huhn testified that DNA from the clinic in Indianapolis is being tested against samples from Fuentes.
The 10-year-old told police Fuentes was responsible for her pregnancy, Huhn testified. Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer said the girl had recently turned 10, meaning she was likely impregnated at 9 years old.
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Ebner said the high bond in the case was necessary due to Fuentes being a possible flight risk and for the safety of the child involved.
During the hearing, Meyer requested Fuentes be held without bond. He said Fuentes is not believed to be in the country legally and there are questions about his identity.
Clark Torbett, an attorney with the Franklin County Public Defender’s office, said it was unconstitutional to hold Fuentes without bond, especially with DNA confirmation of the pregnancy’s father still pending.
He said Fuentes had lived in Columbus the last seven years and had a steady job at a café.
If convicted, Fuentes would face a potential life sentence in prison.
Charges confirm story that has become abortion debate flash point
The criminal charges and testimony from the Columbus detective confirm the disturbing story that has become a key flash point in the national furor over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
IndyStar first reported earlier this month that a 10-year-old rape victim traveled from Ohio to Indiana for abortion services after most abortions became illegal in her home state.
The story quickly went viral, appearing in outlets across the globe, and became a top talking point for abortion rights supporters, including President Joe Biden.
"Imagine being that little girl," Biden said Friday as he decried the high court’s decision. "I’m serious. Just imagine being that little girl."
But in recent days, some abortion opponents and news outlets have criticized the story as unproven.
Story was questioned by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Fox News
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also questioned the validity of the account during an appearance on Fox News this week.
Yost, a Republican, told Fox News host Jesse Watters that his office had not heard "a whisper" of a report being filed for the 10-year-old victim.
"We have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs — not a whisper anywhere," Yost said on the show.
Yost doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday, saying that the more time passed before confirmation made it "more likely that this is a fabrication."
"I know the cops and prosecutors in this state," Yost said. "There's not one of them that wouldn't be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him. They wouldn't leave him loose on the streets ... I'm not saying it could not have happened. What I'm saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence."
On Wednesday, once news of the arraignment came, Yost issued a single sentence statement:
"We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets."
Data shows frequency of reports of sexual abuse of children
An IndyStar analysis of Columbus police reports filed since May 9 found 50 reports of rape or sexual abuse involving a girl age 15 or younger. That number may also be underreported because of restrictions on public access to public records related to allegations initiated by mandated reporters. The report involving the 10-year-old girl falls into that category.
In 2020 there were 52 abortions in children 15 or younger in Ohio, accounting for .3% of the 20,605 abortions performed that year, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Data from the health department shows there were 63 such procedures in 2019, 54 in 2018, 61 in 2017 and 76 in 2016.
In Indiana, 67 of the 8,414 people who obtained abortions in 2021 were 16 or younger, according to the Indiana Department of Health's annual report.
Indiana lawmakers expected to enact abortion ban
The ability of Ohio residents to seek abortion services in Indiana could soon be curtailed.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, has called a special legislative session that is scheduled to convene on July 25. Republicans, who hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly, have pledged to enact new abortion restrictions.
Legislative leaders have been tight-lipped about what the legislation will look like. They haven't said whether their abortion proposal will allow for exemptions for rape, incest or life of the pregnant person, or at what point in a pregnancy they'll ban abortion.
Reporters asked Holcomb about the case of the 10-year-old rape survivor on Tuesday. He called it a "horrific example," but declined to say whether he was comfortable banning abortions in cases involving young rape victims.
"I am reserving comment until we see a bill," he said.
IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange contributed to this story.
From The Indy Star, July 13, 2022
Pregnancy From Rape Is Not a Hoax
By: Sarah Jones
Police say an Ohio man has confessed to raping a 10-year-old girl who subsequently became pregnant and sought an abortion, the Columbus Dispatch reported on Wednesday. The Indianapolis Star had previously reported that the child, who was six weeks and three days pregnant, had to travel to Indiana to terminate the pregnancy due to Ohio’s highly restrictive abortion laws that came into force after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Right-wing news outlets promptly questioned the story, as did Ohio’s Republican attorney general, Dave Yost. In an appearance on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime last week, Yost, who is anti-abortion, said there was “not a whisper” of a criminal investigation into the rape and cast doubt on the story’s veracity in further interviews. “Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication,” Yost told the USA Today’s Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday. “I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.”
Yost later issued a “single-sentence statement” in response to the arrest of Gershon Fuentes, the Dispatch reported on Wednesday. “We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets,” he said, adding later that he was “absolutely delighted that this monster has been taken off the street. If convicted, he should spend the rest of his life in prison.” It was not clear if Fuentes had entered a plea to the charge.
Wednesday’s news should encourage introspection on the part of Yost and others. Although a confession doesn’t prove the man is guilty, the Columbus police revealed that child-protective services reported the girl’s case to them last month, which corroborates the Indianapolis Star’s initial reporting. It also disproves the notion that the viral story was either a hoax or the product of journalistic malpractice, as Megan Fox of the right-wing outlet PJ Media suggested in tweets.
A narrative quickly spread. The story was “totally unverified,” the Daily Caller claimed.
To right-wing news pundits and commentators, the story proved the media’s bias against strict abortion laws. When President Joe Biden mentioned the story before signing an executive order on reproductive rights, conservative sources became further inflamed. Much of the outrage hinged on the observation that the Star had published a “single-source” story about the alleged rape, and that its source, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, appeared to be a supporter of abortion rights. “What we seem to have here is a presidential seal of approval on an unlikely story from a biased source that neatly fits the progressive narrative but can’t be confirmed,” the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal complained, hours before the Dispatch reported the arrest. “The abortion debate is intense and passions run high. But the American people deserve better from their President than an unproven story designed to aggravate those passions.”
Conservative complaints received a boost from the Washington Post. There, Glenn Kessler of the paper’s “Fact Checker” column wrote that Bernard, when reached, “declined to identify” either the doctor who referred the child to her care or the city in Ohio where the child resides. This by itself doesn’t seem to undermine Bernard’s credibility, given the subject is a minor rape victim, nor is it proof that the story is a lie. (Kessler, to his credit, never claimed the latter, though some on the right likely wish he had.) Now that an arrest proves the story was no hoax, we must contend with a different narrative altogether. This tragic viral story is an example of life after Roe. Pregnancy from rape is no hoax, either.
The right wing is morally unprepared for such a reality. It’s far easier to call a viral report into question than it is to say that a 10-year-old girl should be forced to bear a child. Yet that’s precisely the outcome their desired legal regime would produce. There will be more stories like this one, more ugly truths the right does not want to confront. The right’s reaction reflects the degree to which the pregnant person — adult or child — has become an abstraction to them. Empathy is incompatible with dehumanizing anti-abortion laws.
From New York magazine, July 13, 2022
Republicans Are Having Some Trouble Talking About Rape and Incest
By: Jordan Weissmann
By the time the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, 13 states were ready with so-called trigger laws that would ban abortions within their borders immediately. (Additional states had pre-Roe prohibitions in place that will now be enforced.) One notable thing about these trigger statutes, which have been gradually enacted over the past two decades, is that most of them do not make any exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.
This absolutist approach to abortion prohibition was once considered both morally and politically unthinkable, but came into vogue in red states thanks to the increasingly hard-line views that have come to dominate both the conservative movement and anti-abortion activism in particular. The reasoning behind it is straightforward enough: If life really starts at conception and abortion is murder, then terminating a pregnancy for any reason at all must be banned. The issue is that outside the world of conservative ideologues, it remains a wildly unpopular policy.
Gallup’s polling over the years has found that around three-quarters of Americans consistently say that abortion should be legal in instances where the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest. Voters are broadly supportive of abortion rights in the first trimester or so, but they are especially supportive of these rights in scenarios where women have been the victim of a crime. This has left Republicans attempting to defend the politically indefensible. None of the tactics they are trying appears to be working very well.
Take Yesli Vega, a GOP house candidate in Virginia, who was caught on tape during a campaign stop musing that women might be less likely to get pregnant in cases of rape. This is a long-running myth with deep origins in the anti-abortion movement, which might explain why it was proposed first by someone attending the campaign event. On the audio, first reported by Axios, the audience member asks: “I’ve actually heard that it’s harder for a woman to get pregnant if she’s been raped. Have you heard that?” Vega responds: “Well, maybe because there’s so much going on in the body. I don’t know. I haven’t, you know, seen any studies. But if I’m processing what you’re saying, it wouldn’t surprise me. Because it’s not something that’s happening organically. You’re forcing it.”
The comment was essentially a repeat of the notorious gaffe that ended Rep. Todd Akin’s political career in 2012. The Missouri congressman lost his bid for the Senate after suggesting that women could not become pregnant in cases of “legitimate rape” because “the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” The comment haunted him quite literally to the grave (it tended to lead his obituaries in 2021). So you might think Republicans would have learned to never go full Akin—but apparently not.
For those wondering: The surprisingly durable misconception among conservatives that women are less likely to become pregnant from rape was popularized in the Handbook on Abortion, a 1971 book written by Jack and Barbara Willke, an OB-GYN and nurse couple who went on to lead the anti-abortion movement. They cited unnamed studies to substantiate a number of vague and far-fetched claims about issues such as how the hormones that affect pregnancy would be affected by sexual assault; Jack Willke eventually served as president of the National Right to Life Committee for nearly a decade in the 1980s, and even defended Akin’s comments in 2012. (The Willkes are both deceased.)
Other Republicans have tried to put a more compassionate, principled spin on their position. “I believe every life is precious,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said when asked to defend the lack of a rape exception in her state’s trigger law. “I just have never believed that having a tragedy or tragic situation happen to someone is a reason to have another tragedy occur.” Asked by an AP reporter whether a “12-year-old girl who was molested by her father or uncle” should have to carry the child to term, Philip Gunn, the speaker of Mississippi’s House, responded simply: “That is my belief. I believe life begins at conception.”
This approach obviously resonates with sympathetic religious audiences who believe blastocysts and embryos are not potential life, but people. But it also underscores the reality that hard-line Republicans view this issue differently from the majority of Americans, who appear to prioritize the personal agency and well-being of sexual assault victims over fetuses. Certainly, not many share Gunn’s opinion that tweens raped by a parent should have to then give birth.
Some conservatives have tried to deflect by pointing out that abortions in cases of rape or incest are “extremely rare,” as a GOP candidate for governor in Arizona recently put it. This is true-ish: A 2005 Guttmacher Institute study found that less than 1.5 percent of abortions involved cases of incest or sexual violence, and some researchers have suggested the true figure may be lower. But that only raises a question: If these cases are so, so rare, why not make an exception for them to spare at least several thousand women the emotional and physical burden of carrying a rapist’s child? Is banning 98.5 percent of abortions not good enough?
Some Republicans are conceding that the legislation their party has put into place is too punishing and, perhaps realizing the level of its unpopularity, have hinted it could be pared back at some unspecified time. Take, for example, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who admitted in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd that he actually thought his state’s trigger law should have had an exception for cases of rape (it only includes one for when the mother’s life is at risk). This was awkward, since Hutchinson signed that law. To wit:
Todd: So if a 13-year-old, though, in Arkansas is raped by a relative, that 13-year-old cannot get an abortion in Arkansas. Are you comfortable with that?
Hutchinson: I’m not. I would have preferred a different outcome than that. But that’s not the debate today in Arkansas. It might be in the future. But for now, the law triggered with only one exception. While you can debate whether there ought to be other exceptions, every state is going to make a different determination on that under our constitution.
It’s nice to see a flash of conscience, but I’m not sure “I am sorry I signed this barbaric law” is going to be a winning argument with many skeptics.
The Supreme Court’s decision to junk Roe already appears to be deeply unpopular. Several midterm polls already show voters moving toward the Democrats since the ruling came down. It sure seems like Joe Biden and his party would be wise to do anything within their power to keep the conversation focused on abortion issues, given that Democrats are probably going to get trounced in any discussion of the economy due to inflation and gas prices right now. And there may not be a better topic to focus on than the fact that many Republican-run states won’t even make exceptions for cases of rape. If your opponent sounds like a total ghoul talking about an issue, it’s probably best to make them talk about it as much as possible.
From Slate, June 30, 2022
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defends abortion law, says state will 'eliminate rape'
By: Rick Rouan
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that he intends to “eliminate rape” in his state, amid criticism that a new law banning abortions at six weeks does not include an exception for victims of rape and incest.
The Texas law is the most restrictive enacted since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Abbott signed the bill into law in May, and the U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled 5-4 against abortion rights groups seeking to prevent it from taking effect.
Abortion rights groups have said the law could deny women access to abortions even before they know they are pregnant in some cases. It has no exception for rape or incest.
Asked on Tuesday why the state would force a victim of rape or incest to carry a pregnancy to term, Abbott defended the law.
“Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure 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. So goal no. 1 in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape,” he said Tuesday.
Speaking for the first time since the Supreme Court’s decision, Abbott said state-supported organizations also would “provide support for those who are victims of rape.”
In 2019, 14,656 rapes were reported in Texas, according to the state's Department of Public Safety. About 2,200 people were arrested for rape that same year.
The U.S. Department of Justice already has vowed to protect abortion providers that face violence and the women they serve.
White House fires back at Abbott
The White House fired back on Wednesday at Abbott's defense of the law.
“If Gov. Abbott has a means of eliminating all rapists or all rape from the United States then there would be bipartisan support for that," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing.
As the Texas law takes effect, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is looking at "ways to make sure we are providing access to health care to women in Texas," Psaki said.
“Clearly this law or this bill that was signed into law is something we strongly oppose and there’s an urgency to looking for and announcing actions to help women now," she said.
Castro, AOC among Abbott's critics
Abbott's defense of the law drew criticism both from within and outside Texas.
Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro tweeted that Abbott was "lying."
"Many women don’t even know they’re pregnant by the 6-week mark when abortion is outlawed in this bill," he wrote. "Rape and incest victims would be forced to carry a pregnancy to term at that point—or face civil lawsuits for getting an abortion."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said during an appearance on CNN that Abbott’s comments were “disgusting.”
Many rape victims are assaulted by someone they know, she said, and might not want to “retraumatize” themselves by pursuing charges.
“None of this is about supporting life,” she said. “What this is about is controlling women’s bodies and controlling people who are not cis-gender men.”
From USA Today, September 8, 2021