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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAbbott said Texas will 'eliminate all rapists from the streets' so women don't have to worry about
the new antiabortion law having no exception for rapeGov. Greg Abbott of Texas said in a press conference on Tuesday that the state's new abortion law would not force a rape victim to carry their assailant's child to term. To achieve this, the governor pledged to "eliminate all rapists" in Texas, the local NBC affiliate KXAN reported.
"Let's make something very clear: Rape is a crime," Abbott said while signing a major GOP election-reform bill. "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."
He added: "So goal No. 1 in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of it." The governor also said Texas had numerous organizations that support rape victims.
The new law, which went into effect on September 1, prohibits people in Texas from having an abortion after a fetal "heartbeat" can be detected on an ultrasound. Doctors told NPR the term "fetal heartbeat" was misleading because it refers to electrical activity, rather than the opening and closing of the heart's valves. The law allows no exceptions for rape or incest.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/gov-abbott-said-texas-eliminate-195007397.html
How? Is he going to require all Texas men be full eunuchs?
Srkdqltr
(6,228 posts)Just like Trump all mouth and no plan.
renate
(13,776 posts)It's so absolutely insulting, everything about this is so deeply insulting. Did they really think that women are morons who would be all "woo hoo, no more rapes from now on, Greg Abbott is going to keep us safe, yay for our pal Greg!" Did they really think we wouldn't wonder why, if this were remotely feasible in the real world that regular people live in, he simply hadn't bothered before? Can you imagine the meeting where this talking point was decided upon and approved? Honestly, the rank stupidity of these politicians is just sad and pathetic and the people who fall for their hollow words are sad and pathetic.
Also. I really believe that these absolute morons couldn't even be arsed to get one single medical professional's ten-second input on what a 6-week gestation actually means. I think they believe that a woman is raped, the pregnancy test is positive immediately, and then she has a leisurely 6 weeks to decide.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)spooky3
(34,405 posts)Rapists are often boyfriends, family friends, pillars of the community, etc.
DBoon
(22,340 posts)Only the feared "others" commit this crime.
underpants
(182,603 posts)DBoon
(22,340 posts)No, it's one of those "others" jumping out of dark alleys and assaulting them, to retreat back into the darkness
Make7
(8,543 posts)markie
(22,756 posts)Ocelot II
(115,587 posts)You could argue reasonably that a man isn't a rapist until he actually rapes somebody. He might be a potential rapist because he thinks about raping somebody, or he's been a groper or other sort of sex pest, but technically he isn't a rapist until he really does it. Abbot said, "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." Fine. They'll arrest and prosecute the rapists and get them off the streets - after they've become rapists by raping someone. I guess potential rapists will get one free rape in order to become an actual arrestable rapist, and of course his victim could have become pregnant as a result of his one free rape, but she can't get an abortion.
(And what about all the other reasons for needing an abortion?)
lpbk2713
(42,736 posts)I mean right down to the bone stupid.
dslyahoo
(55 posts)Being a T follower, Gov Abbott is probably referring to the same rw trope that calls out drug dealers, criminals, and rapists when he says get them off the streets. The people that really should be arrested, wont be. Same as now.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,142 posts)CanonRay
(14,084 posts)Just sayin'
FakeNoose
(32,579 posts)orwell
(7,769 posts)...from the Con Party.
That should take care of the bulk of them...
obamanut2012
(26,046 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,567 posts)Some sort of financial assistance was started by a 3rd party so that the kits would finally start getting processed. I saw it on CNN or MSNBC earlier.
As usual, Abbott is all talk on the concern for rape victims.
dflprincess
(28,072 posts)csziggy
(34,131 posts)Maybe if they'd tested them all in a timely fashion, there would be fewer rapes in Texas (and across the country). Even Texas Republicans know this is a problem:
In: All News Posted 02/02/2021
Share:
WASHINGTON U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in the Dallas Morning News highlighting three laws he has authored to deliver federal tools to help end Texas rape kit backlog:
Texas Has the Tools to End the Rape Kit Backlog. Lets Use Them.
Senator John Cornyn
Dallas Morning News
February 2, 2021
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/02/02/sen-cornyn-texas-has-the-tools-to-end-the-rape-kit-backlog-lets-use-them/
6,108.
Thats the number of untested rape kits in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, and more than 1,000 of them sit on lab shelves in Dallas.
Each kit holds unique DNA evidence that could help put a rapist behind bars and provide closure for survivors. But every day that a kit doesnt get tested, that evidence goes nowhere, and victims go another day without justice.
The rape kits collecting dust in Texas labs represent unidentified criminals that could be named and prosecuted, even halting repeat rapists. Each of these kits tells a horrific story, and the longer it sits idle on a shelf, that story worsens.
To better understand the burden rape victims carry, I visited The Gatehouse in Grapevine, a living community for women fleeing many types of crises, including rape and sexual assault. I toured the facility and learned from its leadership and law enforcement about local issues of sexual violence and how seeking justice can play an important role in a survivors recovery. Without question, the memories that have most stayed with me from that day are the stories two brave North Texas rape survivors shared with me there.
One of those survivors is Lavinia Masters. At 13 years old, Masters was brutally raped at knifepoint in her own home. Whats worse, the evidence that could have put her attacker in jail within days was left untouched for more than 20 years, allowing the serial rapist to abuse even more women. By the time authorities found a DNA match, the statute of limitations on her case had expired and she couldnt seek justice. Her attacker roamed free.
Its the kind of story that makes your blood boil, and unfortunately, its all too common.
Throughout my time in the U.S. Senate, Ive fought to deliver justice for survivors and ensure the system doesnt fail more courageous people as it did Masters. Im proud to say three laws Ive authored for this purpose are already working to eliminate Texas rape kit backlog.
Before we can eliminate a backlog, we need to have a good understanding of how big it is. Thats why I led the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act, or SAFER Act, which has enabled state and local entities to take stock of their rape kit backlogs. The SAFER Act increased by 35% the federal resources that state and local law enforcement agencies may use to audit their rape kit backlogs. The results are staggering: SAFER grants have uncovered tens of thousands of untested kits including kits in Texas that could now help to pull a criminal off the streets.
Then you need the resources to start testing the evidence lining lab shelves. Thats where the Debbie Smith Act comes in. Like Texas Lavinia Masters Act, this legislation is named for another courageous survivor, and it provides federal funds to state and local law enforcement agencies to complete forensic analyses of crime scenes and untested rape kits. Just last year, this brought $6.9 million to Texas for rape kit testing, and $1.4 million for North Texas alone.
The final, critical step is justice, putting attackers behind bars and providing closure for survivors. The Justice Served Act provides federal resources to prosecutors across the country for crimes solved by DNA testing.
The system failed Masters and too many survivors like her, and Im proud to have led these bills which have helped Texas reduce its rape kit backlog by 80% in just eight years.
But Masters story may be familiar to you, too. Or perhaps you know another one of the 6,108 Texas survivors whose DNA kit currently sits on a shelf. We know those kits hold more than DNA. They bottle up the victims uncertainty, anguish and fear until a match allows him or her to seek justice.
As long as rape kits sit untested, authorities are failing the victims and communities weve sworn to protect. Its up to us to ensure the justice system works for everyone. And at the federal level, Ill use every tool in my box to empower Texas law enforcement to test every single one of the 6,108 rape kits left.
https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/content/news/cornyn-op-ed-texas-has-tools-end-rape-kit-backlog-let%E2%80%99s-use-them
Boomerproud
(7,940 posts)Spare me Cornyn. Half of that OpEd was patting yourself on the back for doing something that should have been done 20 years ago
madinmaryland
(64,931 posts)quaker bill
(8,224 posts)if you cannot solve the crime before it occurs, some women will end up pregnant in this way.
Now it is clear that Abbot is pushing BS that he has no intent of even attempting to do. But even if he were to intend to do so, he cannot solve the crime and bust the perp before it happens.
bottomofthehill
(8,318 posts)The Texas motto could be Were Number 1, then the sad part , in Rapes.
PortTack
(32,705 posts)Oneironaut
(5,486 posts)They only say this because they know enough stupid people will buy it or delude themselves into thinking it.
underpants
(182,603 posts)Well, someones doing the raping infamous quote from him. He knows.
LetMyPeopleVote
(144,919 posts)gldstwmn
(4,575 posts)Is he really that fucking stupid?
Mad_Machine76
(24,392 posts)Why hasnt he already? What has he been waiting for this whole time up to now?!