Although the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution holds that women have the right to pursue an abortion, the reality of politics at the state level can make this right complicated.
For anti-abortion legislators, the strategy to fight the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in the 1974 case of Roe vs. Wade involves establishing the legal “personhood” of a fetus. According to Time , this personhood means that as soon as an egg is fertilized, it becomes a person with rights.
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In the case of Georgia’s state legislature, these competing legal rights have recently come to a head. And one state representative has a special response to that clash.
At the moment, the Georgia state senate is considering a bill that would ban most abortions after doctors detect a heartbeat in the womb.
According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution , this means House Bill 481 would affect pregnancies of six weeks and beyond.
As Rolling Stone reported, many women don’t even realize they’re pregnant at six weeks.
The bill has already been approved in the Georgia House of Representatives by a vote of 93-73.
As Rolling Stone reported , it is also expected to pass in the senate, which has a Republican majority.
Based on previous Supreme Court decisions, the bill is unconstitutional because it seeks to ban abortions before 23 to 25 weeks, but state representative Dar’shun Kendrick believes this is a deliberate test to challenge Roe vs. Wade.
And so, Kendrick has proposed her own bill that has similarly brazen challenge for House Bill 481 itself.
As she told Rolling Stone , she intends to “bring awareness to the fact that if you’re going to legislate our bodies, then we have every right to propose legislation to regulate yours.”
She also says her proposed “Testicular Bill Of Rights” is to be drafted and submitted just like any other bill.
So what does Kendrick’s response bill actually propose?
Should it pass, men in Georgia would need to seek permission from their partners before they obtain a prescription for Viagra or any similar medication.
This is far from the only clause in it, however.
Kendrick’s bill would also ban all vasectomies and impose the same punishments that House Bill 481 would for conducting abortions.
If House Bill 481 is to pass, doctors who perform abortions could not only experience civil suits and criminal charges, but also end up at risk of sanctions from the state medical licensing board.
Kendrick’s bill would also criminalize sex without a condom and classify it aggravated assault.
If a woman becomes pregnant under this bill, a DNA test will be required between six weeks and eight weeks of her pregnancy to determine the father’s identity.
Once this is discovered, the father will be required to immediately start paying child support.
Finally, if a man wishes to purchase pornography or sex toys in Georgia, he will be subject to a 24-hour waiting period.
Much like the authors of House Bill 481 put it forward with the expectation that it will potentially be ruled unconstitutional, Kendrick doesn’t actually expect her bill to pass in Georgia’s House of Representatives.
However, as a member of the house’s minority party, the only recourse she has other than voting against it is to introduce legislation like this.
And so, as Rolling Stone reported , Kendrick’s bill is intended as a means to highlight the absurdity of legislating women’s bodies as House Bill 481 seeks to do with similarly absurd legislation regulating men’s bodies.
h/t: Rolling Stone
