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Chris Rabb: Dem Rep proposes mandatory vasectomy in response to Texas abortion bill

'There should be laws to address the responsibility of men who impregnate them!' Pennslyvania Democratic State Representative Chris Rabb tweeted

Texas' controversial abortion bill has inspired fury from protestors, threats from Democrats, and a massive range of memes. It's now also inspired legislation in Pennslyvania. On October 3, Democratic State Representative Chris Rabb announced new legislation targeting men, in direct response to Texas' SB8. "There should be laws to address the responsibility of men who impregnate them!" he declared on Twitter, announcing a public call for co-sponsorship of his proposal.

Texas' controversial law has become a key talking point for the entire nation, with even some celebrities weighing in. Singer Billie Eilish dubbed the law "shit" and said "my body, my f-----g choice," at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Even the Satanic Temple waded in, sparking more controversy in early September. As we have previously explained, the law basically ends the Roe v Wade precedent in the US and could be used by other states as well to basically outlaw abortion.

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At the heart of the matter is the way the law is framed, so as to allow private citizens to bring lawsuits against those who seek abortions once a fetal heartbeat has been detected. With the Supreme Court siding with Texas, Democrats have had few options to hit back with. That's where Rabb's unique solution comes in. The PA Rep. wants the state to put the onus on men for pregnancies, and force them to get vasectomies.

Must 'acknowledge men’s essential role in procreation'

"The rights of cisgender men have always been paramount in our society with little focus on their responsibility as inseminators," Rabb wrote in his memorandum to the State House of Representatives. He said, "We must wrap our love of individual liberty in the moral imperative of greater personal responsibility and acknowledge men’s essential role in procreation." In order to do that, Rabb proposed a bill that would mandate vasectomies, with conditions.

Men would be required to get a vasectomy within 6 weeks from having their third child or 40th birthday, whichever comes first. Pennsylvanians will be able to take civil action against anyone who "wrongfully conceive" a child with them. Furthermore, Rabb also proposes a $10,000 reward for "reporting to the proper authorities those scofflaws who have not complied with this statute."

His memo ends with a call to other Representatives to "take a gander at this forthcoming bill that seeks to end this egregiously gendered double standard," of regulating "the reproductive rights of cis women, trans men, and non-binary people," but not men. He then shared the memo on social media with a series of tweets.  

'Something about women’s health'

Naturally, the announcement met with massive backlash, as social media users were quick to slam Rabb's idea. "If there was any doubt that today’s progressive left have utterly and completely disregarded your personal medical freedom, then let this be the nail in the coffin," GOP Representative Barb Gleim wrote on Facebook in response. One person responded on Twitter, "We don’t live in China. Regulating the amount of children is ridiculous." Another mocked, "Government forced sterilization. How very 1930's Germany in your thinking."

"Can someone introduce a national IQ test for members of Congress?" one user replied. Another joked, "Do you people ever work, or just spend all day coming up with internet stunts for clicks?"

He did however find some support, with a handful of users supporting the proposal. One user tweeted, "The level of outrage among the commenters and not one of you put it together that if the government shouldn’t be legislating men’s reproductive health then…hm…something about women’s health? All people created equal? No? Nothing?" Another said, "It kills me, the men responding here like this is crazy talk. WTF do you think men have been doing to women FOREVER. You want to control my body, well then, I want to control yours."

 Acknowledging the backlash, Rabb said, 'To each person who views this bill I’ve introduced as absurd, I’d urge you to apply equal scrutiny to laws in places like Texas and right here in Pennsylvania, which enact paternalistic restrictions on the personal liberty of cis women, trans men and nonbinary individuals who have an unwanted pregnancy." Surprisingly, his proposal isn't exactly unique. In February 2020, Alabama Democratic Rep. Rolanda Hollis proposed similar legislation, but it was shot down.