As Texas' Abortion Trigger Law Goes Into Effect, Beto O'Rourke Ramps Up Attacks

Ryan Grenoble
·2 min read
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A trigger law banning abortion in Texas with no exceptions for rape or incest went into effect Thursday, and Beto O’Rourke wants to make sure voters there don’t forget it was entirely GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s doing.

The Democratic nominee for governor stopped at a women’s health clinic in Houston on Thursday, where he held a news conference with patients and providers who already find themselves in excruciating situations because of the law, which went into effect following the reversal of Roe v. Wade earlier this summer.

In comments relayed via the Houston Chronicle, one woman, whose water broke 18 weeks into her pregnancy, said doctors told her they couldn’t help her even though the fetus wasn’t viable. Instead she was told to go home and wait for the baby to die, risking an infection that could kill her and prevent her from having children in the future.

“Reproductive health care is under attack in this state more than anywhere else in the country, probably more than anywhere else in the developed world, and there is one person responsible for that: Gov. Greg Abbott,” O’Rourke said. “There is one way to overcome this, and that is by beating him in this election on Nov. 8.”

O’Rourke’s campaign also released two ads overnight scorching Abbott for the law, which polling shows a majority of Texans oppose.

The first features women discussing the law as an attack on fundamental human freedoms, including bodily autonomy and freedom of choice, a choice the state now makes on their behalf ― even in cases of rape or incest.

“From this day forward, Aug. 25, women all across Texas are no longer free,” the women say, speaking one after another. “All because of Greg Abbott’s abortion law.”

“Women will die because of it,” the ad concludes.

The second spot highlights a Texas couple, one of whom is a lifelong Republican who voted for former President Donald Trump, the other a Democrat. Despite their political differences, they both agree the law is too extreme.

“No exception for rape? No exception for incest? $100,000 fines and jail time for doctors?” says the Republican husband, Trey Ramsey.

“I mean, this is a free country,” he continues. “We need a governor who gets that, and that’s Beto.”

In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze disputed the characterization, saying that O’Rourke’s positions “are not only out-of-touch with Texas, they’re out-of-touch with basic humanity.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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