Page 18 - IAV Digital Magazine #493

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Mandatory Vasectomy Bill Introduced In Alabama
Rhonda Hollis (above), Democratic legis- lator from Birmingham, has introduced a bill in Alabama that would require men to have a vasectomy by the time they reach age 50 or after they father a third child. House Bill 238 reads: “Under existing law, there are no restrictions on the reproductive rights of men. This bill would
require a man to undergo a vasec- tomy within one month of his 50th birthday or the birth of his third biological child, whichever comes first.”
“I think it’s absurd, first of all,” DeMarcus Furlow remarked. “It’s delusional for somebody to tell somebody they have to have a mandatory vasec- tomy.”
“I’m not going to do it,” RaVon Dovard added. “I’m not
going to be a part of it ‘cause what if I want to have four kids one day and I can’t have kids because I’m 37 and have three kids?”
Even some women question the bill. “We are grown up, Kelle Akana, a mother of four, comment- ed. “We can do what we want to.
After we got out of our parents’ house. We should be able to do what we want to.”
Senator Ted Cruz* (R-Texas), who will turn 50 in December, also took aim at the legislation. “Yikes,” he tweet- ed. “A govern- ment big enough to give you every- thing is big enough to take everything ... liter- ally!”
According to Hollis, she is sending a mes- sage. She does- n’t believe the bill will pass but intends to demonstrate her opposition to the abortion ban the legislature passed last year without exemp- tions. “Many have
seen HB238 as an outrageous overstep. Yet, year after year the majority party continues to intro- duce new legisla- tion that tries to dictate a woman’s body and her reproduc- tive rights,” Hollis read from a pre- pared statement. “We should view this as the same outrageous over- step in authority. The vasectomy bill is meant to neutralize last year’s abortion ban bill and sends the mes- sage that men should not be legislating what women do with their bodies. Just as I would turn to my doctor over my state legisla- tor to make rec- ommendations when deciding whether or not to
have a surgery, or whether or not to take a certain type of medicine – it is my doctor with whom I – or any of my loved ones – should consult when it comes to making the incredibly dif- ficult decisions related to my per- sonal reproduc- tive rights. Alabama taxpay- ers have been forced to hand over more than $2.5 million in legal fees to the ACLU to fight unconstitutional attempts to restrict women’s access to repro- ductive health- care, and the majority party’s continued attempts to restrict women’s reproductive rights could cost Alabamians even more.”
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine