Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday accused GOP lawmakers of “incompetence” after claiming they are “killing women and pregnant people.”
“Just a few months ago I literally had to explain to Republican members of Congress how periods work. Their complete and utter incompetence is now killing women and pregnant people across the US. There remains no legitimate grounding or basis to force birth in the United States,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, tweeted.
She made the statement in response to Sept. 7, 2021, remarks made by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about his state’s abortion law that will go into effect soon since the Supreme Court overturned of Roe v. Wade late last week.
Texas is one of 13 states with abortion trigger bans that will become law within one month of the court’s decision.
The New York Democrat posted a video clip of Mr. Abbott, a Republican, saying that Texas’ law “provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion.”
She responded in the video, “I’m sorry, we have to … break down biology 101 on national television, but in case no one has informed him before in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period.”
“And two weeks late on your period for any person, any person with a menstrual cycle, can happen if you’re stressed, if your diet changes, or for really no reason at all. So, you don’t have six weeks,” she said.
“What this is about is controlling women’s bodies and controlling people who are not cisgender men,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. “This is about making sure that someone like me as a woman, or any menstruating person in this country cannot make decisions over their own body, and people like Governor Abbott and Mitch McConnell wants to have more control over a woman’s body.”
Under Texas law, it will soon be a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion, except to save the life of the patient or if the patient risks “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.” There is no exception in the law for cases of rape or incest.
Doctors who perform abortions in the state face life in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and their medical license being revoked.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says it’s unclear when the ban will start, but his office will make that known after the court releases the formal judgment for a rehearing.
“The Court will issue its judgment only after the window for the litigants to file a motion for rehearing has closed. A judgment can issue in about a month, or longer if the Court considers a motion for rehearing,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement. “So while it is clear that the Act will take effect, we cannot calculate exactly when until the Court issues its judgment.”.
Mr. Abbott issued a statement Friday morning, saying the court was right to overturn Roe v. Wade, and praised his state’s women’s health initiatives.
“The U.S. Supreme Court correctly overturned Roe v. Wade and reinstated the right of states to protect innocent, unborn children. Texas is a pro-life state, and we have taken significant action to protect the sanctity of life. Texas has also prioritized supporting women’s healthcare and expectant mothers in need to give them the necessary resources so that they can choose life for their child,” he said.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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