SAN ANTONIO - Governor Greg Abbott made headlines as soon as he responded to being asked why Texas' latest abortion law does not include a clause for victims of rape or incest.
We’re digging deeper, asking how the governor intends to "eliminate rapists" while thousands of rape kits remain untested.
"House Bill 8 is now law," Gov. Abbott announced as he signed SB8 into law.
We're 14 days into Texas' strict abortion law, banning abortions for anyone, even rape or incest victims past six weeks.
Governor Greg Abbott saying SB8 does not force victims to carry the pregnancy to term.
"Goal number one in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so no woman no person will be a victim of rape,” Governor Abbott responded after saying victims have six weeks to get an abortion.
Lavinia Masters, a rape survivor, has very little hope Governor Abbott can keep his promise.
"That would be a beautiful thing to see, but it's not going to happen. Uh, it's not realistic,” Masters said. "It's outlandish to say things in that manner."
This is personal for Masters.
She was raped when she was just 13 years old.
For 20 years, she wondered who her attacker was, while her rape kit sat on a shelf collecting dust -- untested.
Right now, Texas has 5, 298 rape kits waiting to be tested.
Nineteen f them represent victims here in San Antonio, according to SAPD.
"I'm very frustrated,” Masters said.
So how does Governor Abbott plan to "eliminate rapists" from our streets when we still have a backlog of at least 5,000 rape kits that need to be tested?
"That's the million-dollar question,” Masters said.
We reached out to Governor Abbott who said he has signed laws to help clear up rape kit backlogs.
His statement reads in part, “To prevent such heinous crimes before they happen, and to prosecute any criminals to the full extent of the law, Governor Abbott has aggressively fought against defunding the police including signing legislation to ensure communities have the law enforcement resources to fight such crimes and investigate rapes."
The number of untested rape kits has decreased.
According to Senator John Cornyn, there were 6,108 rape kits waiting to be tested in February 2021, since, a little more than 800 have been tested.