Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday lamented that female members of the House Republican caucus “sent the entirely wrong message” by rebelling against language about rape in the GOP abortion bill.

The House last week dropped a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks after numerous Republican women and swing-district congressmen objected to the exception for rape, which required women to report the assault.

“Most of the conference was 100 percent in favor of the bill that was going to be brought to the floor. Some of us were wishing that there would not be any exceptions because it was going to be 20 weeks — no abortions after 20 weeks — when the evidence is clear those babies feel,” Gohmert said on a conference call that included pastor E.W. Jackson, according to a recording published by Raw Story.

Gohmert then said that Republican women split the caucus by opposing the language on the rape exception. He said that opposition to the bill should have been voiced before the legislation made it to the House floor.

“I’m told that they’re still going to bring it back, but because there was such division among our Republican females, they pulled the bill that day,” he said. “And that was extremely unfortunate, and it sent the entirely wrong message.”

Listen to the audio via Raw Story: