Texas Governor Greg Abbott defends abortion ban, advises rape victims to take plan B

Texas Governor Greg Abott said that the rape victims can avoid pregnancy by opting for Plan B which is the use of emergency contraception. The Governor was talking in support of the state wide ban on abortions in Texas which made no exception even for the crime victims. According to the ban, the victims of incest or rape can also not opt for abortions.

Although this might be applicable to the high-income group, the emergency contraception is still not widely available to the poor due to the state’s health care landscape. The advocates stated that a significant number of females of the childbearing age go uninsured as a result of the state’s lack of programs which provide access to emergency contraception like Plan B.

Abbott mentioned that the first thing a rape victim should do is immediately access the health care to get Plan B which will help in preventing the pregnancy. As a next step the victim should report the crime to the law enforcement agencies to bring the rapist to justice so that he may be arrested and prosecuted.

The plan B is an emergency contraception which stops the fertilization process. The treatment has varied effectiveness depending upon how soon it was taken after the event. Generally, it works successfully in preventing pregnancy if taken within five days of having sex.

Abott said that the state wants to support the rape victims, but it was also advisable that the victims should immediately access healthcare to rule out the possibility of abortions.

The Senate Bill 8 was signed into law in September in last year. The law calls for state wide ban on abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, the law states no exceptions for rape or incest. Governor Abott says the state aims to completely eliminate rape. It is worth noting that Texas ranked at number 16 for number of forcible rape cases per capita in 2020.

The Women’s Center CEO for the Houston Area, Emilee Whitehurst, informed that a substantial number of rapes go unreported and in actual number of victims is way more than those reported in hospital for seeking treatment.

Plan B for Rape victims adds insult to injury

Whitehurst said that the emergency contraception cannot substitute abortion access in any way and the people supporting the abortion ban have further limited the options for the victims of sexual assault. She said suggesting a rape victim to use Plan B to prevent pregnancy was like adding insult to injury, imagining the horrors of sexual assault the victim already faced.

Whitehurst insisted that to presume Plan B to substitute right to abortion signifies the sheer misunderstanding of the reality of women's lives and their biology.

Emergency contraception can be purchased over the counter but it is highly priced at $50. While those who are insured can claim insurance to recover the cost of emergency contraception, but the uninsured have to take care of the additional expense from their own pocket.

Texas has a poor healthcare landscape

The healthcare system in Texas has one of the lowest standards of eligibility in the country. In order to qualify for Medicaid, a single parent of 3 kids should have income less than $400 per month. In addition to this, the state sponsored programs like Healthy Texas Women Program and Family Planning Program for women’s healthcare do not provide access to emergency contraception.

For the poor, one of the limited options to access the emergency contraception are the Title X clinics which provide the pill at an affordable cost. However, these reproductive health clinics which are federally-funded are not present in every community in Texas.

Whitehurst expressed that it was no less than a fairytale thinking to talk about guaranteed access to emergency contraception. She said the highest impact of this law will be on the young victims of sexual assault who will struggle to access this form of contraception.

Whitehurst added that the emergency contraception is neither easily available nor affordable. Also, it is an unsustainable solution to the horrible situation in which it puts the women with no access to abortion.

Trauma therapist, Chau Nguyen, says in the regard to a rape victim, the immediate pressure to seek an emergency contraception multiplies the trauma of the survivor. Nguyen works with JEM Wellness & Counseling in Houston. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Nguyen said that the poor and women of color already face too many roadblocks to gain access to healthcare making emergency contraception not a feasible option for them.