Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Gov. Abbott’s 'disgusting' rape and abortion comments: 'Ignorance that is hurting people'

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday, where she responded to comments made by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed one of the nation’s strictest abortion bills into law earlier in the day, making abortion illegal after roughly six weeks. At the signing, Abbott was asked about the fact that the bill makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

“Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?” Abbott was asked. “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 answered. “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. So goal number one in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.”

Those comments did not sit well with Ocasio-Cortez, who made her feelings very clear to Cooper. “Well, I find Governor Abbott’s comments disgusting, and I think there’s two-fold. One, I don’t know if he’s familiar with a menstruating person’s body. In fact, I do know that he’s not familiar with a woman — with a female or menstruating person’s body,” Ocasio-Cortez said, later adding, “I’m sorry we have to break it down — you know, 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.”

He speaks from a place of such deep ignorance, and it's not just ignorance, it's ignorance that is hurting people across the country.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez went on to list a number of reasons a woman could be two weeks late with her period. As for Abbott’s claim that he’d rid the streets of Texas of all rapists, she’s not buying it.

“The majority of people who are raped, and who are sexually assaulted, are assaulted by someone that they know. These aren’t just predators that are walking around the streets at night. They are people’s uncles, they are teachers, they are family friends,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And when something like that happens, it takes a very long time, first of all, for any victim to come forward. And second of all, when a victim comes forward, they don't necessarily want to bring their case into the carceral system. They don't want to re-traumatize themselves when they go to court.”

Ocasio-Cortez finished with some harsh words for Abbott.

“He speaks from a place of such deep ignorance,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “and it’s not just ignorance, it’s ignorance that is hurting people across this country.”

Anderson Cooper 360 airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on CNN.

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