Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has defended his state's abortion law that makes all abortions illegal except to save the life of the mother.
Hutchinson appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday morning (local time), and a scenario was put to him: If a 13-year-old in his state is raped by a relative, they wouldn't be able to get an abortion.
"I would prefer a different outcome than that," he said.
"That's not the debate today in Arkansas. It might be in the future."
He pointed to the law currently banning abortions with only one exception - if the mother is in a life-threatening situation, it doesn't include an exemption for pregnancies from rape or incest.
The US Supreme Court on Friday (local time) scrapped the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which recognised the constitutional right to an abortion and legalised it nationwide. It now means each state can decide whether or how abortion is restricted.
The decision saw several states implement immediate bans, forcing women to travel long distances to access reproductive healthcare. It also sparked nationwide protests as residents took to the streets across the country.
Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the programme after Hutchinson.
"What's really important is honing in on this idea that the Governor, the Republican Party, and frankly the Republican legislature, cares about the life of a woman and the life of a mother," she said.
Ocasio-Cortez highlighted that the state has the third-highest maternal mortality rate in the US, and added that most of those women are Black.
"Forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will, will kill them," she added.
