- Clinics in Texas have struggled with the demand to help rape victims.
- A rape crisis clinic worker told the AP
- It comes as Government Greg Abbott has vowed to “crack down on all forced abortions” because of the state’s strict abortion laws.
Clinics in Texas say the number of rape cases is “constantly” high, even as Gov. Greg Abbott says the state’s strict abortion laws will “get rid of all rapists,” the Associated Press reported.
Last year, Abbott vowed to crack down on forced abortions after signing the state’s abortion law, which bars people from getting the procedure after a fetal “heartbeat” is detected on an ultrasound, Insider previously reported. The law has no exceptions for rape or consanguinity — restrictions that abortion advocates and some GOP members have condemned.
At that time, Abbot said, “Let’s face it. “And Texas will work tirelessly to get all drug dealers off the streets of Texas by aggressively arresting and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”
He continued, “So the No. 1 goal in the state of Texas is to eradicate rape so that no woman, no man, becomes a victim of it.”
But staff at a Texas clinic said the growing number of rape victims was so severe that a facility near Texas A&M University had to go on a waiting list, the Associated Press reported.
“The numbers are consistently high,” Lindsay LeBlanc, executive director of the Sexual Assault Resource Center, told the newspaper. We are struggling to meet demand.
The Texas Tribune reported last month that the state’s pro-abortion law took effect after SCOTUS overturned Roe. v Wade, which also included a provision stating that anyone committing the process would be subject to life imprisonment.
Citing the state Department of Public Safety, the APA reported that there have been more than 14,000 rape-related crimes since last year. Democrats recently criticized Abbott for saying rape victims should take Plan B to prevent pregnancy.
“With quick access to health care, you can get the Plan B pill that prevents pregnancy in the first place,” Abbott said. “As for reporting to law enforcement, this will result in the arrest and prosecution of the rapist.”