AP Photo/Cliff Owen; AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Sarah Palin in a video posted to Twitter on Thursday.
- "Call 1-800-CRY-NOW," the New York lawmaker told the former VP candidate.
- Palin had criticized Ocasio-Cortez over comments she made related to Texas' new abortion law.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Sarah Palin in a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, telling the former vice presidential candidate to call a "special hotline" if she's upset with the New York lawmaker.
"Does my existence make you mad? Does the fact that yes, I am a mouthpiece for the people of New York's 14th Congressional District, upset you?" Ocasio-Cortez said in the video. "Well I have help for you. Call 1-800-CRY-NOW. That's 1-800-CRY-NOW."
The progressive Democrat's tweet came in response to clip of Palin criticizing her during a Fox News appearance on Wednesday night. Palin slammed Ocasio-Cortez after she questioned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's knowledge of basic biology and condemned his state's strict new law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 9, 2021
"I don't know if he is familiar with a menstruating person's body," Ocasio-Cortez said of Abbott on CNN on Tuesday evening. "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."
"Six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period," she added.
Palin, a Republican who previously served as governor of Alaska, ripped into Ocasio-Cortez's comments.
"Wow AOC, she's really milking this, isn't it?" Palin told Fox News. "She's such a fake feminist that she would bring up an issue like this and try to use it to make some kind of political point."
"It just makes my stomach sick what she has done. She should be embarrassed," Palin continued. "She's milking the whole female thing. And as a real feminist, I'm embarrassed for her."
-Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 8, 2021
Palin is one of several figures on the right who have criticized Ocasio-Cortez's comments this week. The congressional lawmaker appeared to explain her choice of terminology in a Twitter thread on Wednesday, writing: "Trans men & non-binary people can also menstruate. Some women also *don't* menstruate for many reasons, including surviving cancer that required a hysterectomy."
Republicans who are "mad at this are protecting the patriarchal idea that women are most valuable as uterus holders," Ocasio-Cortez added.
The Texas law, which bans abortions after the six-week mark of pregnancy - a time when many people do not yet know they are pregnant - took effect last Wednesday. The law makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and calls on private citizens rather than state officials to enforce the ban.
In a follow-up tweet on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez shared a link to a donation website to help Texans pay for abortions, which they are now seeking out of state.