A lawmaker from Pennsylvania plans to file a vasectomy mandate that will force men above 40 years old to get the operation within six weeks of their youngest child's birth to prevent another pregnancy.
Democratic Rep. Chris Rabb said he would soon introduce the bill to the floor in response to the most stringent Texas abortion law. He also said that his proposal would adopt a similar provision that will reward private individuals $10,000 if they report a man who has not followed the vasectomy mandate.
The bill will also include a provision that will limit the number of children fathers should have to just three. After the third child, they should also get a vasectomy regardless of their age.
I will be introducing a bill inspired by @RepKellyCassidy that requires all inseminators to undergo #vasectomies within 6 weeks of having their third child or 40th birthday, whichever comes first. /1
— Rep. Chris Rabb (@RepRabb) October 2, 2021
Additionally, . . .#ReproJustice #ReproductiveRights #AbortionIsHealthcare
It's a Satirical Proposal
In an interview with WHP-TV, Rabb admitted that the proposal is actually a satire meant to spark a conversation about people's reproductive rights. He said that many bills and laws regulate women's health and rights, but there is no such law for men.
"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," Rabb said.
The lawmaker, however, is determined to introduce the bill to the floor at the General Assembly so that his colleagues will see the double standard of reproductive health care proposals. Within minutes after announcing his plan, Rabb said he received hateful and threatening messages, but he told his critics they should have scrutinized other restrictive bills in the same manner.
Rabb added that he was inspired to follow the bill filed by Illinois Rep. Kelly Cassidy, called the TExAS Act, which grants a $10,000 bounty on individuals who report or file a civil lawsuit against people who commit sexual assault, domestic violence, or cause unwanted pregnancy in women.
Both laws take a similar stance as the Texas abortion law that will reward people who report a woman or anyone helping the women get an abortion. The controversial Texas abortion law took effect on September 1.
'Open Season' for Women's Health
Per Cassidy and Rabb, the Texas abortion law triggered an "open season" for women seeking proper reproductive health care. However, Republicans who have heard of Rabb's proposals said that abortion and vasectomy are not the same issues.
In a post on social media, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Barb Gleim believed that Rabb's bill would "never see the light of day" and likened the proposal to the communist policies of China. On Twitter, Rabb was mocked by netizens, comparing the vasectomy mandate to Nazi Germany.
However, Rabb is not the first lawmaker to propose a vasectomy mandate. In 2020, Alabama Rep. Rolanda Hollis also filed a similar bill for men above 50 years old or dads of three kids to get snipped. Hollis' proposal, which was a response to Alabama's abortion laws, was scrapped for overstepping on a private, personal, and family decision.
