Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s recent comments defending his state's new abortion law.

AOC, the representative for New York's 14th congressional district, described Abbott's defense as "disgusting" and "deeply ignorant", following the governor's recent comments regarding rape victims.

Per the Huffington Post, Abbott was asked by a reporter on Tuesday: "Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?"

In response, Abbott said: "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 [...] 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."

AOC was later asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night what her thoughts were on Abbott's comments, to which she said that the Texas Governor was "not familiar with a female or menstruating person’s body" because if he was "he would know that you don’t have six weeks".

The 31-year-old continued: "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."

Ocasio-Cortez then dismissed Abbott's comments regarding "getting rapists off the streets".

"The majority of people who are raped and who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by someone that they know," she said. "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.

"And when something like that happens it takes a very long time, first of all, for any victim to come forward."

AOC then spoke about how some victims don't want to bring their cases "into the carceral system" and that some people "don't want to retraumatize themselves by going to court".

"He speaks from such a place of deep ignorance," AOC said of Abbott, before adding: "And it’s not just ignorance. It’s ignorance that’s hurting people across this country."

Last week, Texas passed a new law - known as Senate Bill 8 - that bans abortion providers from carrying out terminations after the fetus' heartbeat had been detected.

Per CNN, this is usually around the six-week mark - a time when many women are unaware that they are pregnant.

The law cites no exception for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest. The only exception to the law is if a "physician believes that a medical emergency exists".

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Jen Psaki has been praised online for her responses to a male reporter's questions about abortion.

The White House Press Secretary was repeatedly questioned by a male reporter during a press conference on Thursday following Texas' decision to introduce controversial abortion law.

As reported by CNBC, President Joe Biden has blasted the decision as an "unprecedented assault" on women’s rights, after Supreme Court justices rejected efforts by abortion-rights advocates to prevent the restrictive abortion law from taking effect.

The law makes most abortions illegal following six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers.

In the fallout from the law being passed, Psaki was asked by Owen Jensen from the Eternal Word Television Network on Thursday: "Why does the president support abortion when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion is morally wrong?"

To which Psaki responded: "Well, he believes that it's a woman's right, it's a woman's body, and it's her choice."

Jensen then quickly fired back at Psaki, asking: "Who does he believe, then, should look out for the unborn child?"

Psaki then said: "[Biden] believes that it's up to a woman to make those decisions and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor.

"I know you've never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant. But for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing. The President believes that their right should be respected."

Once Psaki had finished her answer, Jensen can be heard attempting to continue his questioning, causing the White House Press Secretary to say:  "I think we've got to move on. I think we have to move on - you've had plenty of time today."

Psaki's calm answering of the questions led to an outpouring of praise on social media, with columnist David Weissman tweeting: "Awesome response from Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden’s support for Women’s rights while being Catholic."

In a damning statement from President Biden, he described the laws as "an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years".

Biden's statement added: "This law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest.

"And it not only empowers complete strangers to inject themselves into the most private of decisions made by a woman—it actually incentivizes them to do so with the prospect of $10,000 if they win their case."

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A Texas doctor has claimed to have performed 67 abortions the day before the new law took effect in the southern state.

Earlier this month, Texas passed a new law - known as Senate Bill 8 (TX SB8) - that bans abortion providers from carrying out terminations after the fetus' heartbeat had been detected. This is usually around the six-week mark, when many women are unaware that they're even pregnant.

As reported by CNN, the law cites no exception for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest. The only exception to the law is if a "physician believes that a medical emergency exists".

Now, in an interview with Vice, a 83-year-old OB-GYN and termination provider at the Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinics in north Texas has revealed that he worked up until midnight before the law took effect on September 1.

Describing the day as "unheard-of", Dr. Jasbir Ahluwalia reveals he performed 67 abortions that day, explaining: "We knew we had to take care of each one of them."

"Nobody cared for their own welfare," he says of his fellow staff at the clinic. "The workers—they want to take care of the patients. That was an amazing, amazing attitude I saw for the first time in all these 50 years of practice of medicine."

And despite describing the patients that evening as "calm", he says: "They knew that after midnight, we’ll not be able to take care of them. Those who were there at 11 o'clock, we told them that’s time running out."

Dr. Ahluwalia confirmed that no shortcuts were taking and "everything was done properly" and on the books.

The doctor says that the next day, the clinic was nearly "empty", and says that it is a "sad, hollow feeling" being unable to take care of patients.

"It’s a law, it's in effect, we have to observe it," he ultimately says.

When challenged by a reporter on the new law, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reiterated earlier this month that "it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion".

He then went on to say that "goal number one in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape."

In response to his comments, representative for New York's 14th congressional district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stressed: "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."

The 31-year-old also lambasted Abbott's comments regarding rape and said that the Governor "speaks from such a place of deep ignorance."

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A Florida lawmaker has introduced an anti-abortion bill that's extremely similar to the controversial law on abortion in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks and deputizes citizens to target anyone who assists in one.

Republican State Rep. Webster Barnaby filed the bill Wednesday, September 22, presenting the potential law that would fine "at least $10,000 for each abortion that the defendant performed or induced in violation of this chapter, and for each abortion performed or induced in violation of this chapter which the defendant aided or abetted."

The law would go into effect July 2022, per AP.

The "Florida Heartbeat Act" changes the state's abortion laws from using the word "fetus," instead replacing it with "unborn child," and it effectively bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected, with few exceptions.

Unlike the Texas law, this bill allows exceptions for rape, incest, and life-threatening cases with the appropriate documentation to confirm.

A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the Associated Press in a statement: "Governor DeSantis is pro-life.

"The Governor's office is aware that the bill was filed today and like all legislation, we will be monitoring it as it moves through the legislative process in the coming months."

Democrat State Rep. Anna Eskamani, an outspoken advocate for abortion rights, said in a statement in response: "This gross excuse of a bill attacks women and birthing people who are seeking an abortion before they even know they are pregnant.

"It also attempts to mimic Texas by creating a process for civil action towards those that help someone in Florida end a pregnancy after 6 weeks. Extreme attacks on reproductive health are not about policy, it is about control, shame, and will negatively impact communities who already experience barriers to accessing care."

Eskamani added: "We must stop these extreme anti-abortion bills and I know the people of Florida overwhelmingly agree."

In Texas, the controversial new legislation, Senate Bill 8, bans abortions after six weeks in Texas and took effect last week after the Supreme Court's inaction.

The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court did not act upon objections from emergency requests brought forth by abortion providers.

This means that as of September 1, abortion after six weeks is illegal in the state - which is before many people even know they are pregnant, CNN reports.

Private lawsuits can therefore be brought against any pregnant person seeking to have an abortion after six weeks.

This amounts to a near-total ban on abortions and has no provision for victims of rape or incest.

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A Texas high school valedictorian scrapped her original speech to speak out against the state's abortion ban.

Paxton Smith had her speech about the influence of TV and media on her world views preapproved, but she swapped it out last minute and replaced it with a now-viral speech about the state's new abortion laws.

With a shaking voice, she said: "In light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state.

"Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest."

She went on: "I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us.

"I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail me, that if I'm raped, then my hopes and efforts and dreams for myself will no longer be relevant. I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you."

Per the Guardian, the state's governor, Greg Abbott, signed the new legislation which bans abortion after six weeks in May.

However, at six weeks, the majority of women do not yet know they are pregnant.

Pro-choice advocates have slammed the new legislation because it does not make any exceptions for incest or rape, effectively banning abortions for women in Texas.

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential candidate and women's rights activist, praised Smith's speech, writing: "This took guts. Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton."

Former Democratic Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke thanked her "for having the courage of your convictions and inspiring Texas with your refusal to accept injustice as the price of participation in civic life."

He added: "May we all use our place in this democracy to fight for what we believe to be right and follow your example!"

In an interview with D Magazine, Smith said that the viral fame her speech brought her felt "weird for me personally", but she was ultimately glad that she raised awareness of the issue.

She then urged people to vote, "and to stay involved in local elections because those have more power than I think the media gives them credit for."

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