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- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said women who have been raped have six weeks to get an abortion.
- AOC said Abbott lacked knowledge of basic biology and six weeks means two weeks late on a period.
- She explained that things like stress and diet could cause someone's period to be late.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's response on abortion for people who had been raped "disgusting."
During a Tuesday press conference, Abbott said Texas's restrictive abortion law, which bans abortions after six weeks, would not force a rape victim to carry their assailant's child to term because he would work to "eliminate all rapists" from the state.
When asked by a reporter "Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?" the governor responded by saying rape victims have "at least six weeks" to get an abortion.
In response, Ocasio-Cortez told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Abbott lacked basic knowledge about biology.
"I don't know if he is familiar with a menstruating person's body. In fact, I do know that he's not familiar with a female or menstruating person's body because if he did he would know that you don't have six weeks."
-Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 8, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez added that she apologized for having to break down "Biology 1o1 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."
"Two weeks late for 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 added.
According to Planned Parenthood, 85-90% of Texans who obtain abortions are at least six weeks into pregnancy.
In his response to the question about forcing those who had been raped to carry their assailant's baby to term, Abbott also said he would "eliminate all rapists" in Texas.
"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 number one in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of it."
Ocasio-Cortez said the governor's statement does not acknowledge that the majority of people who are raped or sexually assaulted know or are acquainted with their assailants.
The National Institute of Justice found that in 85 to 90% of sexual assaults reported by college women, the women knew the perpetrator.
"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," Ocasio-Cortex told Cooper.
She added that many people who experienced sexual assault may not be ready to come forward or bring their cases into the court system immediately after an assault and said some of these "anti-choice" laws are being made by people who hold misogynistic beliefs.
"It's awful, and he speaks from such a place of deep ignorance," she said. "It's not just ignorance. It's ignorance that's hurting people all across the country."
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