Texas GOP Senator: Abortion Bill Isn’t ‘War On Women,’ Submits Herself As Proof

One Texas GOP senator said Thursday that the controversial anti-abortion bill isn’t part of a war on women, because she is a woman.

Texas state senator Jane Nelson has played a crucial role in guiding the state’s controversial abortion bill through the legislative process. She’s sort of the anti-Wendy Davis in many ways: She has been a media face for the bill, she has presided over hearings which included gut-wrenching testimony from pro-choice activists, and still she has voted for its passage at nearly every available turn.

As the chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and a Republican, you might wonder what Nelson is thinking. Interestingly, she’s actually wondering what y’all are thinking and why what is obvious to her isn’t obvious to you.

“Now I gotta tell you, I am really angry about that phrase ‘war on women,” she told The Huffington Post. “I’m a woman!”

Nelson’s main point of contention with criticism of the bill is that she thinks abortion and women’s rights are unrelated.

“There are many other women’s rights issues that we could be talking about. This is not a war on women. This bill is, you know, trying to correct a war on babies that’s taking place… That’s not anti-woman. Half of those babies are going to be women.”

“This is not a women’s rights bill,” she added. “It’s not going to hurt the Republican Party.”

Still, the bill’s critics say that the dramatic legislation will negatively impact women’s health.

“I don’t know what she calls women’s rights, but I think it includes a woman’s self-determination,” said Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Texas).

If signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, the Texas abortion bill will ban abortions after 20 weeks and shutter almost all of the state’s abortion clinics.

Do you think that women’s rights are erroneously applied to the issue of abortion as Senator Nelson says, or is the bill just dangerous to the health of Texas women? Sound off!