Governor Greg Abbott discusses key topics of abortion, immigration in exclusive ABC13 interview
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In an interview you will only see on ABC13, Governor Greg Abbott spoke with ABC13 political reporter Tom Abrahams on critical topics such as abortion and immigration.
On Sunday, Abbott was in Houston speaking at Congressman Dan Crenshaw's annual youth summit; afterward, Abbott talked with Eyewitness News on several issues. Eyewitness News asked him specifically about spending more than $14 million to bus migrants from Texas to cities including, New York, Chicago, and Washington DC.
"It's because of the facts and what the facts are. This all began in April when small towns on the Texas border were overwhelmed by President Joe Biden's border policies that dumped thousands of illegal immigrants into these towns that were completely incapable of dealing with it and needed relief,"
Abbott said in response to those who have criticized the busing of migrants as a political stunt.
Abbott has also spent money on building a wall and has deployed more than 5,000 Texas National Guard troops to the border in what's called Operation Lone Star to combat what he repeatedly calls an open border. And that is a consistently top issue among voters in Texas.
RELATED: There are more migrant border encounters today than when Gov. Abbott's Operation Lone Star began
Yet another issue potentially motivating voters to the polls? Abortion and women's reproductive health.
Texas' abortion law makes no exceptions aside from the health of the mother. There is also no exception for rape or incest.
The governor indicated he expects legislation that clarifies language in the current law but would not specify exactly what language he would support.
ABC13 asked the governor if there were a piece of legislation allowing for abortion exceptions in the cases of rape and incest, would he sign it? The governor did not answer directly.
RELATED: Texas trigger law banning almost all abortions in effect now
He talked about the possibility of legislation that ran the gamut from no abortion restrictions even up until birth to those that clarified medical language as to what defined a pregnancy that could harm an expectant mother.
"We must both clarify and make sure that the medical profession is doing everything that they can to protect the mother's life," Governor Abbott said.
"We must make clear that the mother's life is just as important as the child's life and that doctors must take action to protect the mother's life. There's going to be a lot of legislation coming forward that will be across the board."
Gov. Abbott insists that Beto O'Rourke's position on abortion is more extreme in that he supports the procedure even at full term.
O' Rourke has repeatedly denounced the claim as false, most recently at the only scheduled debate between the two candidates in September.
For updates on this story, follow Tom Abrahams on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
VIEW THE RAW INTERVIEW WITH GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT HERE:
