Greg Abbott, Beto O'Rourke call each other extremists on abortion
DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Democratic candidate for Governor Beto O'Rourke campaigned in Denton on Wednesday before hundreds of supporters.
"We're in the fight of our lives and we're literally fighting for the lives of our fellow Texans," O'Rourke said.
A new poll of likely Texas voters released Wednesday by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and Texas Southern University shows O'Rourke trailing Republican two-term incumbent Greg Abbott by seven percentage points, 49%-42%.
Among women, the poll shows them tied at 45%, while Abbott leads O'Rourke with men by 18 percentage points, 55%-37%.
O'Rourke made clear to the crowd that a key part of his fight to unseat Abbott is over access to abortion in Texas.
"I know we're going to win because we're fighting for every woman to make her own decisions," O'Rourke said.
The state's new law bans most abortions - including in cases of rape and incest - and with the only exception to save the mother's life.
A recent poll in Texas shows 55% asked believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 44% said it should be illegal in most or all cases.
O'Rourke blames Abbott and calls the law extreme.
He told reporters, "I'm making this a priority because women are under attack in this state unlike any moment in this state's history."
While campaigning in Allen last week, CBS 11 asked the Governor about O'Rourke's criticism and if Texas Republicans went too far.
The Governor said, "On abortion, it's Beto who's an extremist because what Beto believes in is not only abortion of a fully developed baby to the very last second before that baby is born, he is even against a law that was proposed that would have required a doctor to provide medical care to a baby who survives abortion. That is murder."
In response to Abbott's remarks, O'Rourke said, "It is completely false and it's part of his scare tactics. He wants voters to be afraid because he knows that he is so out of line and out of step with the Texas electorate."
O'Rourke said he supported the provisions of Roe v. Wade, which included a provision to allow an abortion after the point of viability of 24 weeks, if medically necessary for the mother.
As a Congressman, O'Rourke voted in 2015 against a bill that would have required doctors to provide aid to a baby that survived an abortion.
According to O'Rourke's campaign, he said at that the existing law already required doctors to do so and that he was concerned the proposal would have left doctors facing criminal charges and lawsuits.
SMU Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson said the abortion issue has mobilized the Democratic Party.
"It's really the one major issue that they have that seems to work well for them," Wilson said. "I think you will find them talking a good bit about that because they would certainly rather the election be a referendum about abortion than be a referendum on Joe Biden."
Polls also show some Independents are also very concerned about abortion access.
