Gov. Abbott gives a 'bizarre' explanation when asked about rape victims under Texas abortion law

Texas' draconian new anti-abortion law, which went into effect on September 1, does not make an exception for either rape or incest. This week at a press conference in Texas, a reporter asked Gov. Greg Abbott about the effect the law will have on rape victims — and Abbott's answer was bizarre.

The reporter asked Abbott, "Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?" And the far-right Republican governor responded, "It doesn't require that at all because obviously, it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion. So, for one, it doesn't provide that."

Abbott continued, "That said, however, let's make something very clear: 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."

The Texas law forbids abortions after about six weeks. Because most women who become pregnant don't realize they are pregnant until after six weeks, the law is, in effect, almost a total ban on abortion in the Lone Star State. Many critics of the law have been attacking it as a violation of Roe v. Wade, but the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the law can continue for now.

Twitter users have been commenting on how bizarre Abbott's answer was. Here are some of their posts: