Despite Texas plan to end rape, assault clinics remain busy

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Rape crisis centers in Texas say their caseloads remain high a year after a new abortion law that made no exceptions for rape victims went into effect. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defended the law in September 2021 by saying that Texas would get to work eliminating rapes. But the constant caseloads in Texas are one example illustrating how Republicans have struggled to defend zero-exception abortion bans that are unpopular in public polling and caused uproar in high-profile cases. The absence of exceptions has caused divisions among Republicans, including in West Virginia, where a new law signed this month allows rape and incest victims to obtain abortions at up to eight weeks of pregnancy but only if they report to law enforcement first.