{"id":76868,"date":"2025-02-18T11:22:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=76868"},"modified":"2025-05-01T10:17:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:17:46","slug":"a-new-resistance-tactic-proposals-to-legislate-mens-bodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/a-new-resistance-tactic-proposals-to-legislate-mens-bodies\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Resistance Tactic: Proposals to Legislate Men\u2019s Bodies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rep. Anita Somani, seen here, is one of several state-level legislators hoping to inspire refreshed discourse around anti-abortion laws – in a roundabout way. (Credit: Ohio House of Representatives<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Several elected officials<\/a> are taking the fight for reproductive rights<\/a> to their colleagues \u2013 by way of some, shall we say\u2026 atypical proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two new bills \u2013 one in Ohio, one in Mississippi \u2013 seek to criminalize the act of ejaculating without intent to impregnate a partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first was the Mississippi bill, called the Contraception Begins at Erection Act<\/a>, which was put forth late last month by Democratic State Sen. Bradford Blackmon. It would penalize someone for “discharg[ing] genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo,\u201d by way of increasingly larger fines for each infraction. The second bill in Ohio, which bears the same name<\/a>, was introduced by Democratic State Reps. Anita Somani and Tristan Rader, and would carry similar penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both proposals include exemptions for sperm donations and intercourse between individuals that wouldn\u2019t result in the creation of a fetus, such as between members of the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These pieces of ejaculation legislation are not expected to gain any real traction \u2013 especially since, in both states, Congress is controlled by Republicans. But, the writers of them say, that wasn\u2019t really the point of proposing them in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n How Abortion is Talked About on College Campuses\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

At present, there are no federal or state-level laws that control what cisgender men can do with their bodies. For women and people who can get pregnant though, there is of course an ongoing attack on their right to bodily autonomy \u2013 an attack which intensified considerably following the reversal of Roe v. Wade<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of publication, 12 states have total abortion bans<\/a> in place; 29 others have varying gestational limits on the procedure. In addition, several states have proposed or enacted<\/a> restrictions on access to certain types of contraceptives. Some want to bring murder charges<\/a> against those who receive and perform abortions. These laws have directly resulted in fear, harm and death for women<\/a> \u2013 and children<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers like Blackmon, Somani and Rader don\u2019t think it\u2019s right, and they want their conservative colleagues to talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to The Story Exchange, Rep. Somani \u2013 who is also a licensed OBGYN \u2013 said that \u201cwe are trying to make a point\u201d with these bills, adding that the din created by supporters and naysayers alike was the hoped-for outcome. \u201cWhat is important to me is that we are having this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and\/or abortion focus on the woman\u2019s role, when men are 50% of the equation,\u201d Blackmon additionally told NBC affiliate WLBT-3<\/a>. \u201cThis bill highlights that fact and brings the man\u2019s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd, but I can\u2019t say that bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s fortunate as, for his trouble, Blackmon has reportedly received numerous death threats<\/a>. In Ohio, anti-abortion actors like End Abortion Ohio president Austin Beigel were more dismissive than combative \u2013 yet still derisive \u2013 in their comments to the press<\/a>. “It’s beyond ridiculous what’s going on here,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s a mockery of the most basic biological concepts.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somani agrees that such laws are ridiculous, actually \u2013 and noted in her comment to us: \u201cI\u2019m against regulating anyone\u2019s reproductive rights. Those decisions should be between the patient and the physician. There should not be criminal penalties attached to these decisions \u2013 like the ones being pushed by conservative organizations across the country.\u201d ◼️<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019 Sketch Tackles Abortion Debate With Razor-Sharp Humor\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two new state-level bills are designed to spark conversation \u2013 and force anti-abortion politicians to confront the reality of who they seek to control, the lawmakers behind them say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":76869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Several state-level legislators are hoping to inspire refreshed discourse around anti-abortion laws - in a roundabout 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