Democratic women seek a state ban on vasectomies for men
This afternoon, the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee will take up HB 954, a measure that would prohibit abortions on women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant. Current law prohibits abortions after the second trimester, or about 24 weeks.
The bill sponsored by Doug McKillip, R-Athens, asserts that 20 weeks is the point at which a fetus can begin to feel pain. The measure also attempts to tighten “life of the mother” exceptions to abortion:
No such condition shall be deemed to exist if it is based on a diagnosis or claim of a mental or emotional condition of the pregnant woman or that the pregnant woman will purposefully engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.
In response, House Democrats have scheduled a 3 p.m. Wednesday hearing at the state Capitol, to propose a bill that would ban Georgia males from seeking vasectomies. From the press release:
“Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies,” said Rep. Yasmin Neal, author of the bill. “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.”
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams added, “The Republican attack on women’s reproductive rights is unconscionable. What is more deplorable is the hypocrisy of HB 954’s author. If we follow his logic, we believe it is the obligation of this General Assembly to assert an equally invasive state interest in the reproductive habits of men and substitute the will of the government over the will of adult men.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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432 comments Add your comment
UGA 1999
February 21st, 2012
1:43 pm
Atlanta Native….I will agree with that, if in order to have an abortion you must serve in the labor and delivery department of a hospital for 90 days.
stephen
February 21st, 2012
1:43 pm
ah, from culture wars to sex wars. It was next in line, I guess.
Confused
February 21st, 2012
1:43 pm
Neal is comparing apples and oranges. Abortions are reactionary procedures subsequent to pregnancy while vasectomies are proactive prosedures prior to pregnancy. The female comparative procedure to a vasectomy is having one’s tubes tied, not an abortion. The former is not currently regulated just like vasectomies.
David
February 21st, 2012
1:45 pm
I would like to thank the Democratic women in the State of Georgia for showing how foolish they are and how little logical thought they have. Since the female equivalent of vasectomies would be to have their tubes tied and not an abortion I am not sure exactly the point they are trying to make is. Well I take that back since I have a brain I know what their point is, I am just laughing because their actions and proposals have nothing to do with their point and apparently they have no real argument other than a 5 year old child’s version of pitching a fit about something unrelated and pretending it is the same thing.
Lee
February 21st, 2012
1:46 pm
Comparing a vasectomy with an abortion just shows how ignorant and stupid some people can be. A vasectomy PREVENTS a pregnancy whereas an abortion KILLS an already living being. They can’t even be compared.
MT
February 21st, 2012
1:46 pm
do so because the life of the mother is threatened, or because they got pregnant as the result of a rape?
No greater love hath he than he who would lay down his life for a friend. Isn’t your baby worth risking your life for, more so than even a friend?
Look back thru history and see where SOME GREAT MEN who were the products of rape were born and made great contributions to society.Abortion would have wiped these men and their contributions out.
DJ Sniper
February 21st, 2012
1:47 pm
David, the GOP has no real argument these days. The party has been completely taken over by the lunatics, and now they are reverting back to focusing on social issues to try and fire up the parties’ fringe base.
But The Emperor Isn't Wearing Any Clothes!
February 21st, 2012
1:49 pm
I took a Viagra last night and it got stuck in my throat. I’ve had a stiff neck all day.
PXXW
February 21st, 2012
1:50 pm
Kudos to Ms. Neal and Abrams.
Lynn
February 21st, 2012
1:50 pm
Ha! Let’s see how the Pro-Life Menfolk take to being told what they can do with their — um — plumbing. I’ll bet they are checking their Old Testaments as I type this.
DJ Sniper
February 21st, 2012
1:50 pm
MT, the point I’m trying to make is that each woman should be able to decide for herself. If they choose life, so be it. If they choose an abortion, so be it. Everybody else should stay the hell out of the argument.
But The Emperor Isn't Wearing Any Clothes!
February 21st, 2012
1:50 pm
Did you hear about the burglary at the pharmacy last night? The bandits got away with the drugstore’s entire supply of Viagra. Police are looking for a gang of hardened criminals.
Bronc62
February 21st, 2012
1:52 pm
I think I got it now…having a vasectomy takes insurance, money, job, care, responsibility …oh and a little pain… hence why liberal dems don’t like it..
MT
February 21st, 2012
1:52 pm
A real Christian knows that God’s judgment will be
every thing you have ever done or even thought.Your idle words will be judged.Certainly killing your own baby will be judged.
honested
February 21st, 2012
1:52 pm
td,
There you go again with that warped, narrow interpretation of Rowe, that has been repeatedly knocked down.
If you don’t want an abortion, don’t get one.
Otherwise, quit wasting legislative time on SETTLED LAW.
Blue
February 21st, 2012
1:53 pm
Yeah…because CLEARLY aborting an existing fetus/baby (whichever your preference is to call it) is the exact same thing as preventing a pregnancy from happening in the first place. Great logic again by our great, logical democratic leaders.
WHITEandGOLD
February 21st, 2012
1:54 pm
Delusional – So by your definition if a woman is raped and impregnated then she must keep the fetus and have a constant reminder of her pain an suffering… not to mention DNA from a violent criminal…makes perfect sense to me. Also, prescription drugs are a danger to people, due to adverse side effects and long term side effects… Lets outlaw those too..and Cheeseburgers and pizza as they aid to the constant problem of obesity and early death due to heart disease… What do you have next communist?
UGA 1999
February 21st, 2012
1:55 pm
WHITEandGOLD…..So killing the baby makes more sense. Please tell me how that causes less of a traumatic experience for the mother?
DJ Sniper
February 21st, 2012
1:56 pm
MT, I take it you fail to realize that not everybody follows the same religious beliefs.
John K
February 21st, 2012
1:56 pm
Of course these GOP moral warriors will never really outlaw abortion. Why in the world would they get rid of one thing that draws in single issue voters? They know they have a blind, loyal flock when it comes to this.
MT
February 21st, 2012
1:57 pm
MT, the point I’m trying to make is that each woman should be able to decide for herself.
She has the right to choose whether or not to get pregnant,not to kill the kid after she conceives.
DJ Sniper
February 21st, 2012
1:57 pm
UGA, how do you know that a woman would be more traumatized by an abortion than having to raise a child born of rape? It could happen, but then again, it couldn’t. As I keep saying, let each woman decide for herself and stay out of her personal business.
BW
February 21st, 2012
1:58 pm
How does this create jobs? Made no mistake….Republicans are as big government as any party.
Peace
February 21st, 2012
1:58 pm
I once worked with a woman who would catch a fly that might wind up in the office and release it to the outdoors. She was firmly pro-abortion. Never been able to understand that kind of thinking. And we get upset in the U.S. when the ruling powers in Syria and other places on the globe kill a few thousand fetuses that have reached adulthood. About 40,000 fetuses were killed in Georgia last year, probably a few million throughout the U.S., and our government never raises a single protest. It’s just a woman’s right to choose. The governments/rulers in Syria, Greece, Egypt…etc., they’re just exercising their right to choose.
John K
February 21st, 2012
1:59 pm
Pro-abortion? Yeah, right.
Donna Lynn
February 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
I don’t know how anyone in today’s world can look at a 6-month fetus and deny that it’s a person. And how can you compare a vasectomy to killing a living human being? I usually don’t get involved in the abortion argument, but, come on. By the sixth month you have a heart beat, a face, hands, legs, fingers and a brain. Don’t be willfully blind.
Atlanta Native
February 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
Heads up, UGA 1991 nutcase. The people who have abortions are not the ones trying to impose federal mandates, in the name of their own private religious beliefs, about a private, personal matter. It’s the fetus fanatics doing so. So, if they are so willing to make such sweeping, personally intrusive laws, they should be willing to accept a mandate to adopt a minimum number of children in the name of their cause; we can begin with requiring every fetus fanatic to register with the federal government and they must adopt at least one child every nine months…
honested
February 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
BW,
You missed the memo. Republicans only talk about jobs BEFORE they accidentally get elected.
UGA 1999
February 21st, 2012
2:03 pm
DJ….That was not my question. Good job trying to twist my words (typical Democrat tactic). What I said was tell me that it wouldnt be less traumatic.
Damn Yankee
February 21st, 2012
2:03 pm
@DJ Sniper — my sister was told by the doctors to abort her baby because it was threatening her life and they said it would have all these health problems. They made a strong case for life of the mother, but she decided to have the baby anyway…my niece was born premature but survived and amazed the doctors at her ability to fight and survive against all odds. She just turned 2 this past week — a second birthday she would never have celebrated had my sister listened to the doctors who were screaming for her to abort the baby. Same thing with a different sister and the twin boys she had…they told her to abort one to save her life and the other — both are doing well today. So I rest my case.
MT
February 21st, 2012
2:04 pm
MT, I take it you fail to realize that not everybody follows the same religious beliefs.
What real religion even condones abortion? Maybe Satanist,
communist, heathens, Certainly not Christians, Muslims, Jews.
Its bad when the only person that a baby can count on turns its back on him/her.
joe in tucker
February 21st, 2012
2:04 pm
just more of a waste of our taxpayers dime and legislative time. Women can have medical procedures that prevent pregnancy just as me can, it is still their decision. One of the most stupid comments i’ve heard coming from a politician is ““Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies” Rep. Yasmin Neal must be one loony broad!!
chanceman4
February 21st, 2012
2:07 pm
Let’s see…an abortion ends a pregnancy, hence an embryo, hence a life…the other has not created life yet. There is no embryo in sperm by itself, which means you are comparing apples to oranges idiots!
Atlanta Native
February 21st, 2012
2:08 pm
Donna Lynn, I have to agree with you although I remain pro-choice. I know several parents of preemies, some multiples, whose kids were born at six months and are now thriving. However, I will ONLY trust OB-GYNs to come to an agreement on the earliest time that a fetus can live independently and VIABLY without the pre-term mother’s support. And whether or not a fetus can “feel pain” is beside the point. If the fetus fanatics rely on this as their premise, then why are they willing to spend tax dollars to support the infliction of pain, suffering and loss of limbs and life on U.S. citizens in America’s multiple murderous wars?
Craig
February 21st, 2012
2:09 pm
Wish you guys would change the headline on the webpage. “Democrats Seek Vasectomy Ban” makes it look like Democrats are trying to do away with vasectomies, and I personally know at least 100 Republicans over the lower-IQ variety will make it a point to vote on March 6 because your paper led them to believe that Evil Obama, the Muslim Menace wants to take away their rights. Please change the headline to read “Democrats Seek to Make a Point.”
The Great Right Hope
February 21st, 2012
2:11 pm
Damn Yankee: Think about it…I was born after roe v wade…at one time I was a so-called choice and could have been killed
So many jokes……so little time………
James
February 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
Oh, wow, for a few minutes I thought the vasectomy bill was real.
‘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’…
That’s hilarious.
RxDawg
February 21st, 2012
2:16 pm
This is a joke right? For the love of god people, leave vasectomies AND abortions alone. The earth is over populated as it is. Ya know what they call living things the reproduce uncontrolably? Cancer.
Ya know what… let’s just split the country in half. For everyone that wants a huge controlling goverment they can get one side. For everyone that wants nothing but a military and post office they get the other side. Flip a coin for first choice.
Mik
February 21st, 2012
2:17 pm
As Ron White says, “You can’t fix stupid.” And boy is our state (and federal) government full of stupid. Fix this mess at the polls and vote for anyone that DOESN’T have an (i) after their name.
Carole
February 21st, 2012
2:18 pm
Ri042
Men pay for their reproductive habits in family court. If they don’t, it’s off to jail. Abrams and Neil should give THAT some thought when talking about fairness
+++++++++++
How many men do you know who are in jail because they didn’t pay child support? That’s usually one of the last resorts. Usually other dumb things are done like taking away their license (which could also prevent them from going to work so they could make money).
Good Grief
February 21st, 2012
2:18 pm
Are you kidding? Surely even a Democrat knows the difference from prevention and a done deal…well, maybe not.
UGA 1999
February 21st, 2012
2:19 pm
Good Grief….They dont.
JohnD
February 21st, 2012
2:19 pm
The funny thing about so many of the arguments – if not tragic – is the willingness to cling to the science on one hand to support an argument, but willfully discard it when inconvenient.
-Medical/Scientific Fact – A fetus at 6 months of age is a viable human being, fully capable with the assistance of medical advance and equipment, to mature into a fully functional adult.
-Legal fact – No state provides for ‘power of attorney’ that provides legal standing to a caretaker, family member or other individual to terminate life support when a majority medical position is that the person on life support has a statistically significant chance of full/partial recovery. If a husband decides to take the life of his wife who is sick, but has a statistically significant chance of survival – he doesn’t get to hide behind the veil of marriage to protect his choice.
This is irrespective of the ‘private, personal nature’ of the caregiver.
The simple conclusion is this – you can certainly make an argument that a woman has a ‘legal right’ to make a choice regarding the willful termination of a human life, despite a statistically significant chance that life could survive and thrive. But you MUST also have the intellectual honesty to acknowledge that is the choice being made – and that choice can’t hide behind the curtain of ‘private and personal’ because the state/government/legal system has already said that doesn’t matter.
MT
February 21st, 2012
2:20 pm
And whether or not a fetus can “feel pain” is beside the point.
No caring, no feeling, what a shame.An innocent baby in the womb, kill it it will be OK,but let it be a convicted serial killer on death row with a life time of evil deeds
and will fight to the bitter end to stop this needless killing of human life. Talk about being mixed up that;s liberals.
Johnnywad
February 21st, 2012
2:21 pm
Well..So much for my stimulus blowjob……
blackhaw
February 21st, 2012
2:24 pm
Is what the Democrats are doing not supposed to make sense? And can everyone please stop with the lame comment that men do not have the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. The government tells us what to do or not to do with our bodies all the time whether one is a man or woman. The democrats in this article just seem petty and silly.
Atlanta Native
February 21st, 2012
2:25 pm
Okay, let’s see. It’s okay for insurance companies and government programs to cover the costs of pills designed to get the mail member up and running, but when it works too well and, let’s say, those same males “forget” or “don’t have time” to put on a condom, or perchance the woman’s method of birth control fails, suddenly its NOT okay to do something about it. And in most cases, not only does the female endure the consequences, whether carrying the fetus to term or choosing to terminate the pregnancy, but there are ZERO LAWS REQUIRING THOSE SAME MEN TO HELP PAY FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PREGNANCY and the ensuing medical care… Hey women, why aren’t there any laws on the books requiring fathers to do their share???
horse
February 21st, 2012
2:25 pm
I like the amendment in Oklahoma to the personhood bill, which states:
“In the spirit of shared responsibility in issues of reproduction, if a woman declares that she is pregnant non-consensually, the sperm donor shall be required to undergo a statutorily mandated vasectomy, shall be fined Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), and shall also be financially responsible for the offspring of such pregnancy until the age of twenty-one (21).”
Georgia Native
February 21st, 2012
2:27 pm
MT, no one is forcing you to abort anything – except maybe your mouth. Why dont you adopt a couple hundred babies who were born unwanted? Or, go protest the Iraq or Afghanistan war?
td
February 21st, 2012
2:28 pm
In all this discussion I have not seen one word mentioned about personal responsibility. It appears that the leftest want abortion to be a form of birth control but even the your President says that should not be the case. Obamacare has made contraceptives free to all women (like it has not been that way for the poor forever) so there is no excuse for an unintended or unwanted pregnancy. People need to either protect themselves or willing to pay for the consequences for their actions and those consequences are 18 years of raising a child.