E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
A group of Democratic women from Georgia, frustrated by recent bills limiting women’s reproductive rights, decided it was time to turn the tables on the men.
Their proposed bill would amend the state’s current abortion law by banning men from getting vasectomies.
“Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation of vasectomies, said Rep. Yasmin Neal, a Democrat from the Atlanta suburb of Jonesboro, in a video statement on Wednesday. “The day has come where men should face the same pressure and invasion of privacy that women have faced for years.
Neal, who spearheaded the bill, tells NBC News her intention is to “shin[e] light on the double standard women face in the United States.”
The anti-vasectomy bill borrows some language directly from H.B. 954, a recently drafted anti-abortion bill in Georgia that would punish abortions performed after the 20th week of pregnancy with prison sentences between one and 10 years.
But Neal is not the only Democrat trying to use a bit of humor -- or exaggeration –- to combat legislation limiting women’s reproductive rights.
Constance Johnson, a Democratic state senator in Oklahoma, believed a proposed bill in her state -- which would require women to undergo an ultrasound and listen and see the fetus before an abortion -- went too far.
So she proposed that zygotes should have the same rights as adults, and added: “However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.”
“My amendment seeks to draw attention to the absurdity, duplicity and lack of balance inherent in the policies of this state in regard to women,” Johnson wrote in a column for The Guardian. She later withdrew her amendment.
Opponents of abortion rights aren’t laughing.
Georgia State Rep. Doug McKillip (R), who sponsored the anti-abortion bill in the state, says Neal and her supporters are misunderstanding the issue.
McKillip -- who at the time of his interview with NBC News had not read Neal’s bill -- argues that his legislation is intended to protect life.
“This is a serious topic, not one that should be dealt with tongue-in-cheek,” he said.
“She’s making a mockery of the system,” added Genevieve Wilson, co-executive for Georgia Right for Life. “She’s ignoring the fact that children are being torn limb by limb.”
Neal counters, “We are very serious about proving a point, but also a serious bill was dropped.”
She continues, “I also find it ironic how a bill about men’s rights is ‘funny, tongue and cheek or humorous’ but a bill about women is ‘serious’ and needs to be debated, that's not fair.”
Leave a Comment:
Let the females institute the same rules for every male who gets a Viagra prescription. Every male needs to be subjected to a rectal exam for prostate cancer ..for every refill.
Good Job Ladies... sometimes, you just gotta respond to stupidity with stupidity...
I've learned that logic and common sense don't prevail in such situations.
Vote these old republican toads out once and for all !
Double standard - SOP for right-wing reactionaries.
I didn't realize that these people are to get paid six figures to make stupid laws! I guess I was mistaken. Georgia must have a surplus of money on their budget.
Of course not, anti-abortionists have no humor. They also have no sense of irony. The only thing they have a complete sense of is hypocrisy. How else do you explain a group of people that are anti-abortionist but use the label pro-life.
RedDev ... I gotta run, but when y'all get to the Dew Drop Inn tonight can you check to see if "Uneasy Rider" by Arlo Guthrie is on the juke box? For some reason these past few weeks have made me think of that old song.
I was takin a trip out to L.A.
Toolin along in my cheverolet
Tokin on
a number and diggin on the radio
Just as I crossed the Mississippi
line
I heard that highway start to whine
And I knew that left rear tire
was about to blow
Well the spare was flat and I got uptight
Cause
there wasn't a filling station in sight
So I just limped on down the shoulder
on the rim
I went as far as I could and when I stopped the car
It was
right in front of this little bar
Kind of a red-neck lookin joint called the
Dew Drop Inn
I stuffed my hair up under my hat
And told the bartender
that I had a flat
And ywould he be kind enough to give me change for a one
There was one thing I was sure proud to see
There wasn't a soul in
the place except for him and me
He just looked disgusted and pointed toward the telephone
I called up the station down the road a ways
He said he
wasn't very busy today
And he could have somone out there in just about 10
minutes or so
He said," Now, you just stay right where yer at!"
And I
didn't bother to tell the darn fool
That I sure as hell didn't have anyplace
else to go
I just ordered up a beer and sat down at the bar
When some
guy walked in and said, "Who owns this car
With the peace sign, the mag
wheels and the four on the floor?"
He looked at me and I damn near
died
And I decided that I'd just wait outside
So I laid a dollar on the
bar and headed for the door
Just when I thought I'd get outta there with
my skin
These 5 big dudes come strollin in
With one old drunk chick and
some fella with green teeth
I was almost to the door when the biggest
one
Said, "You tip your hat to this lady, son!"
And when I did, all that
hair fell out from underneath
Now the last thing I wanted was to get into
a fight
In Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night
Especially when there
was three of them and only one of me
They all started laughin and I felt
kinda sick
And I knew I better think of something pretty quick
So I just reached out and kicked old green teeth right in the knee
Now he let out a
yell that'd curl yer hair
But before he could move I grabbed me a
chair
And said "Now watch him Folks cause he's a thoroughly dangerous
man!"
"You may not know it but this man is a spy.
He's a undercover
agent for the FBI
And he's been sent down here to infiltrate the Ku Klux
Klan!"
He was still bent over holdin on to his knee
But everybody else
was looking and listening to me
And I laid it on thicker and heavier as I
went
I said, "Would you believe this man has gone as far
As tearing
Wallace stickers off the bumpers of cars.
And he voted for George McGovern
for President."
"Well, he's a friend of them long haired, hippy-type,
pinko Rump Rangers!
I betchya he's even got a commie flag
tacked up on the
wall inside of his garage."
"He's a snake in the grass, I tell ya
guys.
He may look dumb but that's just a disguise,
He's a mastermind in
the ways of espionage"
They all started lookin real suspicious at
him
And he jumped up and said "Now just wait a minute Jim!
You know he's
lying I been living here all of my life!"
"I'm a faithful follower of
Brother John Birch
And I belong to the Antioch Baptist Church.
And I aint
even got a garage, you can call home and ask my wife!"
Then he started
saying somethin bout the way I was dressed
But I didn't wait around to hear
the rest
I was too busy moving and hoping I didn't run outta luck
When
I hit the ground I was making tracks
And they were just taking my car down
off the jacks
So I threw the man a twenty and jumped in and fired that mother
up
Mario Andretti wouldda sure been proud
Of the way I was movin when
I passed that crowd
Coming out the door and headed toward me at a
trot
And I guess I should of gone ahead and run
But somehow I just
couldn't resist the fun
Of chasing them all just once around the parking
lot
Well they headed for their car, but i hit the gas
And spun around
and headed them off at the pass
I was slinging gravel and putting a ton of
dust in the air
I had them all out there steppin and fetchin
Like
their heads was on fire and their asses was catchin
then I figgered I had
better go ahead and split before the cops got there
When I hit the road I
was really wheelin
Had gravel flyin and rubber squeelin
And I didn't slow
down till I was almost to Arkansas
I think I'm gonna reroute my trip
I
wonder if anybody'd think I'd flipped
If I went to L.A., via Omaha
TOG that would be D-8 except it's the Charlie Daniels verson. We are anticipating the Blues and Mardi Gras over there tonight so make sure you stop by when you free yourself up.
That was The Charlie Daniels Band from about 1973.
Tired Old Guy--good one for the Juke Box tonight!
Good Job Ladies... sometimes, you just gotta respond to stupidity with stupidity...
I've learned that logic and common sense don't prevail in such situations.
Waiting for somebody to make it mandandory to have an ultrasound and a stress test before they can get Viagra. That ought to really piss them off.
Hey IR -- What about condoms!!! : ) Can you see it now....sorry fella your under arrest for using birth control.
At the very least, there should be a measurement test conducted by the pharmacist to ensure the little blue pill isn't wasted on something less than adequate.
I'd love to hear the whining from Boehner, Cantor and old Mitch if the good democratic ladies in Congress presented legislation to outlaw vasectomies, condoms and Viagra.
Lol, Red!
@IR....Those old coots probably can't piss!
and I think that ol' probe where the sun don't shine would make a man feel reeeeeeaaaal good! Just to prove that the guy was an a****hole...
So these guys want to hold our civil rights hostage to invasive, medically unnecessary procedures????
Alrighty then, all Right-wing, Fundamentalist, males, prior to entering their church, must "turn their heads and cough", if you get my drift.
Fair is fair, right guys?
Let the females institute the same rules for every male who gets a Viagra prescription. Every male needs to be subjected to a rectal exam for prostate cancer ..for every refill.
The ones who are making a mockery of the system are those who feel the need to regulate other women's uteri! And a majority of those are men!
To paraphrase: We are women, hear us roar! We managed to make a lasting impact on the Komen Foundation--we can do this at the general election! And thank you to the great men who are supportive of women's rights!
"We have met the enemy and he is us!" Pogo by Walt Kelly
Oh, the places we could go with this conversation...I think I'll just leave you with this little gem from Monty Python...
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
Let the heathen spill theirs
On the dusty ground.
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found.
Don't remember that one but it suits the topic nicely, Da Noid!
A favorite Da Noid. I have been thinking of it for days. I think we need laws for men about wasting sperm if they need to control women's bodies and her eggs, seems only fair.
Good for the women lawmakers! The absurdity of the attacks on women's reproductive rights deserves equally absurd laws for the males.
Bob McDonnell made a bigger fool of himself on radio and TV when he tried to walk back his support for the transvaginal ultrasound by claiming that no one should have to undergo an unnecessary procedure to have a procedure--yet the modified bill which he supports still requires a regular ultrasound and the woman has to pay for it as well. These yahoos can't even get their own words to ring into their heads.
Jody -- And we thought they were against mandates!
Nothing hath the furor of a pissed off woman. Look out boys here they come.
Whenever a society thinks half of their citizenry are not equal to the other half there will be problems. All of the society will lose.
LMFAO You go Girls All Decent men got Your backs . The rest are Just Old ,Pale and Stale . as someone once said . GOP Get OUT OF MY WIFES VAGINA Ya PERVERTS .
Denoid - Love it. That's a good one!
New FDA ruling (Under Ricky's Administration): All condoms sold must have needle prick in the tip.
(Don't even try to play with the words.)
Oh, dman it,, Loyal, no fair. This just begs to be played with. ;-))))
One big mouth out there needs to be "Newterized" to protect women. Tiffany's should come for his family jewels.
Vote these old republican toads out once and for all !
The conservative "pro-life" position:
Waiting periods, background checks, and dissuasion counselling before having abortions? Yes, absolutely. Mandatory.
Waiting periods, background checks, or counselling before buying automatic assault weapons? Nah. They're fine. What's the worst that could happen?
This reeks of personhood legislation. If a foreign couple vacations in the US and conceives a "person", then returns to their country and has an abortion (after 20 weeks as the legislation proposes), will they then be charged with murder by the Georgia courts? Get real people. The us consitution states that a citizen (person) receives rights once they are born. Leave the abortion decision up to the individual(s) i.e. partners in conception.
Fishy
So how about the flip side? If a Mexican couple spends a tourist weekend in San Diego and manage to conceive a wee one, does that make their offspring an American Citizen under the 14th Amendment?
Tongue in cheek, from a 53 year old white guy, but also very seriously, so take as you please . . .
Oh, SNAP! You go ladies!
Gotta love 'em, yes you do.
I believe in birth control but not murder, or as society likes to call it abortion. A vasectomy is a form of birth control, birth control pills, condoms are forms of birth control, but at the point of conception it becomes the murder of an unborn baby. This bill is like comparing apples and oranges. If you want a double standard why is it not murder if a woman has an abortion, but it is murder if someone commits a crime against a pregnant woman that causes the death of her unborn child? It can't be both ways. Either its a child (a person) or its not.
It is murder of the un-born child when someone else murders a baby that woman decided to have...It is the woman's choice period not yours so stay the eff out of it..
As father who has raised a girl all on my own for 13 years i have learned 2 things
1st is that i knew less about women then i ever thought i knew ( and then some !! )
2nd is that the world of the old GOP thinking has got to go, i have 4 younger brothers and help in raising them and have found that a girl of the same age is most times smarter then her male counterparts ( trust me she wouldn't do half the dumb crap that me and my bro's did at her age )
it's high time we treat their rights the same as males
in the past 13 years due to the fact i raise my daughter on my own ( her mom ran off at 18 months and never came back ),i have now more single moms as friends then i ever had , and talking with a great deal of them this one issue has them voting against the GOP ....and before anyone trys to sully the moms i hang out with rep i will tell you all but one of them works all the time without any state aid ...and the one who gets a bit of aid is just for a sitter so she can work and still pay the bills. Alos the GOP has lost any chance of my vote because of this too , i'm not a DEM or REP... i just vote for who i think is best but this time i will not vote for any REP due to this ....i do this for my daugther, my mom, for your daugther , for your mom ,for your sister and your wifes too
i for one don't want some one telling my daugther what she can or can not do with her body
freedom means we ALL get treated the same
( Oh yea my daugther is sitting near me as i read this and told her about it and she asked me to add .....GO GIRLS ....GIRL POWER .....lol)
padrake--your daughter is lucky to have a dad like you---congratulations.
GIRL POWER FOREVER!!!
Boneheaded lawmakers! Leave my ladies alone! If'n you dont, ima gonna come down thar and kick you azzes! Once a woman if twentyone she is free to do whatever the hell she wants to, its her body, not yours! Get out of womens lives, you thick headed idiots!
I've been a men's rights activist for over 10 years. I'm the vice president of the oldest men's rights organization in the nation. I have successfully sued the state of California to end the discrimination against male victims of domestic violence, not to mention helping victims of paternity fraud and helping fathers get fair treatment in family court, etc. etc.
That said, I do not appreciate seeing the media equate anti-abortion legislation with "men's rights." I am pro choice, and the men's rights movement as a whole does not take a position on abortion itself, particularly not a law on imprisoning women for having abortions after a certain stage. I don't know where the author of this article gets a "men's rights" cause out of that. Is that just another way of slandering the men's rights movement, which is about equal rights and nothing else?
People in the men's rights movement are divided about abortion. Some are pro-life, some are pro-choice. We generally don't address it. But I don't agree that this is a "double standard," because there definitely is a difference between a fetus and sperm. That difference, not gender, is what creates the debate between the two sides, over whether the fetus should be protected as a "person" or not, and if so, at what stage. Men and women are divided about equally over that issue. It's not men versus women. So even though I'm pro-choice for the most part, I disagree with the way this article frames the issue.
If there is a double standard at all here, it's that once a pregnancy occurs, men have no choice but women do, over what happens, so that women can make a unilateral choice that affects the man's body for life, whereas he has no legal say. To alot of men's rights activists, the solution is called "Choice for Men," which would allow men a certain period of time, after notification of a pregnancy, to relinguish their parental rights and obligations over the child in writing. Former NOW president Karen DeCrow has supported Choice for Men. But unfortunately it's not politically correct. Men's rights issues never are. That's why they get distorted and bashed so much.
I invite people to look at the issues page of the National Coalition For Men to understand what the men's rights movement is really about, rather than what the media says about it.
People who make this out to be about men versus women are ignoring the fact that men and women take nearly equal positions on abortion, whether pro life or pro choice. That's because there is a legitimate debate about whether the fetus should be protected as a person, and if so, at what stage. That's not comparable at all to sperm. So these comparisons are misplaced. I'm pro choice for the most part. But I don't appreciate pro choice people making these false comparisons, or pretending it's mostly men making ant-abortion laws, or even saying anti-abortion laws are about "men's rights." I'm a men's rights activist ("MRA"), and the men's rights movement takes no actual position on abortion. Some MRAs are pro life, while others are pro choice and also believe in "Choice for Men," whereby men would have a certain amount of time after notification of a pregnancy to relinquish their parental rights and obligations, like a male "paper" abortion. People should research the men's rights movement before assuming things about it. The movement is about equal rights in child custody, divorce, criminal sentencing, domestic violence services, military conscription, public benefits, parenting rights, forced labor laws, education, etc. Not about abortion.
Repressed women tend to support their husband's positions out of fear, not out of any true expression of their own will.
Case in point:
http://pwtenny.newsvine.com/_news/2012/02/22/10479375-after-calling-zero-women-witnesses-for-their-contraceptive-hearing-gop-bans-democratic-hearing-with-female-witnesses-from-c-span?last=1330196955&threadId=3352447&sp=25&pc=25#c62814287
Women in the U.S. who are pro life are not taking that position out of "repression" or "oppression." National polls repeatedly show about as many pro life women as men, and about as many pro choice men as women. That's people's personal opinions.
Given your stand on the issue, what else are you going to say? You seem to be claiming that all these Republican women are opposed to contraception and abortion without any influence of the innately patriarchal upbringing typical of right-wing religious reactionaries. I believe that there are a significant number of them who aren't thinking the issue through themselves, and are instead simply agreeing with what their husbands have decided. We'll just have to agree to disagree about that.
The men's rights movement is not about abortion. You can learn about it at www.ncfm.org
Learn about Choice for Men by searning "Choice For Men" online.