Pa. lawmaker proposes mandatory vasectomy in response to Texas abortion bill
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP/WKRC) - Efforts to limit access to abortions across the country are being met with resistance in Pennsylvania.
Representative Chris Rabb, a Philadelphia Democrat, is turning heads with his newest effort to change the narrative and conversation.
He shared a memo over the weekend proposing a bill to restrict male reproductive rights.
“I thought it was important as a man to speak up about reproductive rights,” said Rabb. “There are all these bills and laws that regulate and restrict the bodily autonomy for women and girls, but not so much for men.”
Rabb says the vasectomy requirement at age forty or after child number three is just meant to spark a conversation.
“I think it’s appropriate to push the envelope and get people talking so I proposed parity legislation so if you don’t understand satire you aren’t going to get it. It’s levity on a very serious issue, but the bottom line is I want to create a conversation about how easily we accept government intervening into the health decisions of women, which should be between them and their family, and then saying what would it feel like if men were being regulated.”
The satirical legislation, which refers to men as ‘inseminators’ also grants a $10,000 reward to Pennsylvania citizens who report violators or who ‘wrongfully conceive’ a child with them.
Rabb’s memo calls for a change to the definition of ‘wrongful conception’ to include when a person has, “demonstrated negligence toward preventing conception during intercourse.”
It also references legal action against men for unwanted pregnancies.
“My female colleagues have had to talk in excruciating detail about some of their most private medical histories and decisions in their families to make the point that this is something government has no business in,” said Rabb.
The satirical legislation, which refers to men as ‘inseminators’ also grants a $10,000 reward to Pennsylvania citizens who report violators or who ‘wrongfully conceive’ a child with them.
Republicans that spoke with WHP about the memo say it’s unlikely to generate a healthy discussion because vasectomies and abortions are not equivalent.
