Anti-Vasectomy Act Causes Controversy
The bill’s author, Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-Jonesboro): "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."
Photos
Georgia House and Senate legislators will hold a public hearing Wednesday to call attention to the double standard on reproductive rights by introducing the Anti-Vasectomy Act.
The act was inspired, in part, by Athens Democrat-turned-Republican state Rep. Doug McKillip's abortion legislation H.B. 954, which attacks women's reproductive rights, according to House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.
"It is the obligation of the 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," Abrams said.
Should vasectomies be regulated by the General Assembly the same way abortion is? Share your comments and vote in the poll below.
Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-Jonesboro), author of the Anti-Vasectomy Act, said thousands of children are deprived of birth in Georgia every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies.
The public hearing is Wednesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building's Room 515 at 18 Capitol Square.
You can email Rep. John Carson to express your views concerning this issue, or call 404-656-5087.
You also can contact Cobb legislators through the Cobb Legislative Delegation.
Mark Biniasz
1:32 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
These guys are dumber than I even thought. There is NO COMPARISON what so ever to a man (or a woman) taking measures to assure that a pregnancy does "NOT OCCUR TO BEGIN WITH" and a woman terminating the life of a child in the womb!!!! Women can take measures ahead of time to see that they do not get pregnant just as a man can by getting a vasectomy. The left, as usual, is a bunch of whining babies trying to justify their desire to allow abortion "on demand". Whether or not you agree with abortion these two issues are not comparable at all!
Kelly Mulhall
5:09 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
You, sir, are a complete moron. This bill is being put forth as satire, in order to outline the ridiculous and shameful double standards in our society. Even when a woman "takes measures" to see that they don't get pregnant, no contraception is completely foolproof. You really have no business even discussing abortion because you will never be pregnant and will never have to make the decision of whether or not to end a pregnancy. Do you honestly think women who decide to get abortions do it "on demand" with no thought or care? That's absurd. It is an extremely delicate and personal decision and it is no one's business except her's, her doctor's (and especially not YOU).
Ryan Kline
5:17 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Kelly Mulhall you are the one not getting it. It is ridiculous to even compare a vasectomy to an abortion. While I do not care what people do with their own pregnancy, I do take a stand against stupid people. There is nothing a man can do to his body that would kill a developing fetus. If this made any sense, we would have to control the use of condoms, birth control, and any other contraception. Last I checked it is completely legal for women to use birth control, and that is not regulated at all. So women are already on equal footing when it comes to preventing pregnancies, unfortunately there can be no equal footing with abortion, because there is no male equivalent.
Paul
9:36 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
I totally agree with Kelly Mulhall. Many people with religious views say that anything that prevents pregnancy is immoral and should be illegal. Just ask Rick Santorum! The sponsors of this bill are to be congratulated for showing the world how absurd the American debates over abortion, birth control, and morality have become.
Julia Harris
4:11 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The public hearing on the Anti-Vasectomy Act has been moved to room 216 of the Capitol.
Nathan Puckett
10:40 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I have to agree with Ryan on this one. The two are incomparable. But I think part of the bigger issue here is the wording.
Oh and Kelly I'm not the type to typically attack subject matter but to say that a man has no say "because he will never be pregnant and never have to make the decision of whether or not to end a pregnancy" is ludacris. I may self have been in the situation from a males perspective and to assume that we have no feelings invested is outright absurd. I think I get where you are going with this and to assume that every man is willing to "dump and leave" as it were is just wrong. Oh and to answer your question. Yes there are women who are more than willing to use abortions as an "escape plan". I personally am aquatinted with a young lady who has on more than one occasion because she refuses to use contraceptives.
Melanie Mac Caskie
12:58 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
The idea is not that vasectomies and abortions are the same -- women's rights to access to basic contraception have been on the table for the past few weeks.
A vasectomy prevents semen from containing active sperm, yes? According to the people that believe that preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus is an "abortive act," preventing semen from containing sperm that could fertilize an egg is, by the same logic, an abortive act.
The double standard here is that there are currently no laws that govern men's reproductive functions, but there are a variety of laws, red-tape and obstacles to health care access for women's reproductive functions.
Kelly is right. This is a satirical law being presented to raise awareness for the point I just made. For once a politician is using the rhetoric-based strategies of her profession to make people think, rather than make people believe something that only sounds "right" in the context of the wording.
And If you'll never have to deal with the emotional and physical experience of an unwanted pregnancy (or a wanted pregnancy, or the fear that you may be pregnant accidentally), it's insulting to assume that you "know" what someone who has experienced that has gone through.
If you don't believe in abortions, don't get one. It's that simple.
Julia Harris
6:35 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Well said Melanie!
Melanie Mac Caskie
9:24 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Thanks Julia. :)
Mary Loy
3:03 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Melanie,
There is no comparison between a fertilized egg, which is "life," and a sperm cell. Preventing the sperm from reaching the egg is considered by no one I know to be an abortive act. As a woman who has experienced four difficult pregnancies, maybe you will let me have an opinion on the subject. First of all, what kind of "access to birth control" are we talking about? Every woman I know of has access to condoms and the pill, neither of which are terribly expensive and are available for low-income women at Planned Parenthood and other facilities. If we are talking about abortion, then we are talking about a birth-control method that ends a life. Some women obviously choose to do this and are OK with it on some level. Many women are forced by their boyfriends or parents/guardians to have abortions, or have them because they feel they have "no choice". I fail to see how making abortions more accessible helps these women. Every pro-life person I know wants to help these women financially and emotionally, not just so the baby will be born, but so that the women themselves can thrive without feeling like abortion was their only choice. Unfortunately, pro-lifers get such bad press that it is difficult for them to be effective in offering real choices.
As for your statement, "If you don't believe in abortions, don't get one", isn't it also fair to say to health care providers, "If you don't believe in abortions, don't offer them?" That seems only logical.
RossT
5:01 am on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Change the child support and alimony laws and GUARANTEED women will be steadfast in when and how they get pregnant. GUARANTEED! If they want to have sex, they should pay for their own contraceptive. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing anyone's method for contraception.