The Republican march against adult Americans' right to make their own decisions about really private matters remains so unbelievable that parody has become a legitimate legislative response. Oklahoma got the "Every Sperm Is Sacred" protest amendment. Virginia got a measure to require prostate exams for Viagra prescriptions.
And now Georgia State Representative Yasmin Neal has a bill that would ban vasectomies. After a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill taking away women's reproductive rights, Neal decided that fair is fair. I typed out what she says in her announcement video, because I think it's worth reading the whole thing:
"Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies. It is patently unfair that men can avoid unwanted fatherhood by presuming that their judgment over such matters is more valid than the judgment of the General Assembly, while women's ability to decide is constantly up for debate throughout the United States. Women, our bodies, and what we do with it are always up for debate.
"This bill has been drafted for all women who have the wherewithal to choose. The day has come where men should feel the same pressure and invasion of privacy that women have faced for years. I have introduced this legislation because it is the purpose of the General Assembly to assert an invasive state interest in the reproductive habits of the men of this state and substitute the will of the government over the will of adult men.
"This bill states that vasectomies can be performed to avert the death of a man or to avert serious risk of substantial or irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the man. This bill mimics the abortion bills throughout the nation, and just like the abortion bills interfere with a woman’s right to choose, it’s only fair that the General Assembly debate the men’s right to choose, as well."
Representative Neal is holding a hearing on her bill this afternoon.
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So. Unbelievably. Awesome.
she should probably amend it to make prescriptions a requirement for condoms too. then "male birth control" could be up for debate as well, and subject to religious interpretation and general availability.
Ooh, let's not bring condoms into it. That's getting into issues of public health more so than reproductive rights (but I get where you're going with it :)
lets put condoms out there.. why should public health be protected any more then my reproductive rights?!
I mean if that's what it takes to get the gov out of my personal world... then hell, put it all out there so everyone can see just how stupid this really is!
This has made my day. But she should also include something in there about insurance companies not paying for Viagra because it isn't a medically necessary medication. I do think the whole prostate exam before having it prescribed is a good idea as well. Turn about is fair play as far as I am concerned.
Thank you Ms. Neal!! How about an amendment requiring prostate & colon exams before dispensing Viagra?! Just a thought!
Birth control pills are not used exclusively for contraception — a great many women use them for hormonal imbalances. So condoms SHOULD be included in order to make the issue completely parallel.
I think there might finally be a way of dealing with this BS from the repubs- just turn it around on them and watch 'em squirm.
Absolutely brilliant...why didn't I think of this?!?!
ummm reproductive health and public health are the same thing people....
The trouble with turning the tables like this is that, for better or worse, the sex isn't symmetrical. Women use contraceptives because they don't want to be pregnant, but men all too often get vasectomies in deference to women. If nothing else, tubal ligation is a far more invasive procedure than vasectomy -- the vasectomy is usually done under local anaesthesia, but the tubal is under general.
In addition, far too many men are utterly fine with the idea of "their" women having lots and lots of babies and are very, very far from fine with the idea of getting their own tubes snipped.
Not to get too vivid here, but if we want to be sure that no sperm goes to waste, let's make it a law that any man who does not deposit his sperm in a vagina must lick up the wasted sperm, so it returns to his body for recycling in a godly, proper way.
Are we talking anti-masturbation regulations here?
Good for you, Rep. Neal. Fair is fair.
You GO girlfriend!!! This is SUCH a ridiculous fight. I saw this woman from the Susan B. Anthony List on last night defending the VA bill because 'it gave women more information'. And if they didn't LIKE the information? Well, then they knew what was GOOD for you because you know, you'd be so 'hormonal'. I wanted to slap her silly face.
i also saw the Susan B Anthony woman and my jaw dropped when she said women all over the U.S agreed with this transvaginal ultrasound business. She made it sound like all these women were applauding this horribly intrusive procedure. I yelled at the TV!! She epitomizes those "women against women" types that I never can understand--guess they never learned that sisterhood is powerful.
Susan B. would be horrified that those women are hijacking her name in order to reverse women's basic human rights. Absolutely horrified.
So that's why the law has exemptions for patients who are obstetricians!
Oh, wait ....
Back room Vasectomies available call now-1-800-GET-FIXeD
Or we will mail you a scalpel and instructions in our discreet package for $19.99
For those interested denutting season on Louis's Hog farm is now expanding to year round.
LOL LOL LOL
Oh Dear. If I move back to Georgia will I have to get mine undone?
Remember the Herman Cain rule! Just say nien,nien,nien.
Lol! Oh and Paul in German the second vowel walking does the talking. It's nein in German =P
Sorry,it's been a while.
Oh and this just in ... Bob's hog farm offers free mountain oysters with evey denutting! Competition is ramping up.
Second vowel...
Why couldn't they have said it like that in class? Thanks I had a feeling I was wrong but it has been thirty years since I even tried Deutsche
No problem. I took it for 5 years and I don't remember hardly anything from German class ;-). I've been wanting to take a class at the community college just to refresh my noggin'. I do remember the 'second vowel walking does the talking' line though. That's like one of the only things I remember.
That and don't say "Ich bin gut" in response to "Wie geht est ihr?" (I am good in response to how are you). Ich bin gut means I'm good in bed. You're supposed to say Es geht mir gut.
That's about it lmao.
@The Mouzer. In regard to your prior comment that reproductive health and public health are the same thing, you could not be more wrong. Public Health deals with the health of communities and populations. It involves communicable disease control, sanitation, chronic disease prevention, health and wellness education, safety, and a myriad of other things which may or may not include family planning services, depending on the practice setting.
I'll be there!
Hopefully the hearing will consist entirely of women.
Women with a grudge and spiked heels.
Lesbians especially!!!
Does that mean that the men who are legislating women's health are gay? Your attempt at being derogatory shows a basic ignorance: Lesbians would not need to prevent pregnancy, would they? Why do uninformed people always resort to what they regard as name-calling when faced with their own deficiency?
If they come after masturbation, they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
I honestly wish I could see the rage on the faces of the Rethugnicans when she submitted this bill.
They would know w/o a doubt that her intent was to point out their idiocy.. not that they will be able to understand WHY though.
HERE YA GO~PRO -life/PRO SPERM!~lol
I'm tracking down this lady to make a donation to her next campaign.
Oh, and please remove ALL condoms from drug stores and public rest rooms. They are to be available only by prescription, after the man undergoes a trans-penile ultrasound and sperm analysis. If condoms are found to be medically necessary, a scrip may be written, but they are not covered by insurance.
YESSS!!!
Will I get arrested if while giving her a good tongue lashing I make an oops in my pants?
" every sperm is sacred" HAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAA!! this is a great way to fight back, by making men responsible for the unborn fetus' they are killing via killing their "live" swimmers... I hope you men feel the squeeze women feel when you breath down our backs about what we do with OUR bodies... good luck Representative Neal!!
I see your point, and it's well taken, Carol. But, don't include all men. Many of them are against this crap also and are very vocal about it.
Nothing has made me happier. Thank you Rep. Yasmin Neal!!
Good find, Laura! And great idea, Rep. Neal. But I admit being glad my vasectomy was performed years before her bill gained any traction. The thought of having a tiny camera jammed up inside my urethra so I could be forced to see all of the sperm that would be killed off by the procedure makes me cringe and double over into a protective crouch.
Be sure you only invite female members of the clergy to testify in that hearing.
I love this bill so much. I hope this news is covered by lots of sources so that women all over the state of Georgia hear it and cheer it on. Fair is fair and it's about time.
It's about time the "playing" field was leveled. Thank you.
The thing is, the right-wing religious does believe that the sperm is sacred and not to be wasted so this amendment and any other that supports this belief is going to be supported by them.
It SHOULD be supported by them, if not it just proves that they're women hating hypocrites.
Love it!! It's needs just a little bit extra, though. Prohibit the use of condoms, prohibit masturbation, and since vasectomies can be reversed, mandate the reversal of them in any state citizen who may have already had one.
She's covering masturbation in that it's a crime to deposit sperm into anything but a vagina. Love it, love it, love it. They want to make it a crime for a woman to abort a dead baby if after the 20th week. Shameful. I personally had that experience -- I can't imagine having to endure the thought of losing my child AND being forced to carry the baby until nature took its course.
I particularly think it important that all of these above procedures be paid for by the individual.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I'd like to get out the baster right about now.
While we're at it, how about a mandatory rectal exam for every man who wants Viagra?
Why stop at vasectomies? Another satirical response to the tea-pugnacan't anti-birth control and abortion bills - a Kansas Democrat proposes invasive prostate exams for men who want a prescription for Viagra, etc.
I say go one better and demand that the bill include a cystoscopy. It is much worse than a trans-vaginal ultrasound and is a great diagnostic tool.
"The cystoscopy is a very frightening prospect -- having an instrument pushed up your penis is no man's idea of a good time. But experiences vary widely. Below is a range of newsgroup postings on cystoscopy to help you get oriented:
A cystoscopy uses a device which is inserted into the urethra via the opening at the end of the penis. It allows the doctor to visually examine the complete length of the urethra plus the bladder for polyps, strictures, abnormal growths and other problems. Prostatitis patients should insist on the use of a flexible fiber optic scope rather than the traditional rigid cystoscope (see illustrations.)"
Who knows? Some good might come of it; it might catch early cases of prostate cancer. Bad news, there might ba a whole bunch of false positives.
http://prostatitis.org/cystoscopy.html
Yes. Every bill designed to inhibit reproductive rights should have countermeasures attached.
Representative Neal is my new hero!!!!!!
If the state legislators are insured by the state,the men should be required to have an ultrasound before having a colonoscopy.