Sept. 4 (UPI) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that rape victims can take emergency contraception, such as Plan B, after the state passed a ban on all abortions except in the case of a medical emergency, with no exceptions for rape and incest victims.
Abbott’s comments were made during a segment on Lone Star Politics, a show that is jointly produced by The Dallas Morning News and KXAS-TV, which will air at 8:30 a.m. CDT on Sunday.
“We want to support those victims, but also those victims can access health care immediately, as well as to report it,” Abbott said.
“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.”
Plan B is a brand name of the drug levonorgestrel, which is also known as the morning-after pill. It is around 89% effective at preventing pregnancy if taken correctly within 72 hours of having unprotected sex.
“We want to make adoptions easier and cheaper,” Abbott also said in the interview.
Texas passed a so-called trigger law in 2021 in anticipation of the Supreme Court‘s jaw-dropping decision earlier this year to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling constitutionally protecting the right to seek an abortion.
There were around 13,509 rape offenses in Texas in 2020 — more than any other state — with a rate of around 46 rape offenses per 100,000 people, according to FBI data.
Texas is also suffering from a rape kit testing backlog that prevents victims from getting swift justice.
Young girls and women who are raped often don’t have immediate access to emergency contraceptives and Justice Clarence Thomas said in a concurring opinion with the Supreme Court ruling that the high court should consider looking at the legality of contraceptives.
