to punish women for drug use during pregnancy. Using racist rhetoric, politicians claimed that the war on drugs would stop drug use.
In conjunction with laws criminalizing sex work, drug use and LGBT people, victims of the virus often found themselves centered in the response—not as worthy of and deserving of support, but as potential perpetrators of an epidemic. To be sure, Greg Abbott may not be invested in actually ramping up a response to rape whether or not it will prevent abortion. But his words fit into a predictable pattern for legislators: Any issue that might be dealt with through compassion and better social services—from immigration to reproductive health care—is met with a call for more police and prosecutions.
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