Tit-for-Tat in the War on Sex

Mother Jones has a round-up of mocking legislation proposed by US women politicians and their allies to highlight the 'inherent sexism' of the War on Women.

A couple of bills recognize the personhood of eggs and sperm, creating 'egg persons' and 'sperm persons'.

Others propose mandated unnecessary procedures -- like rectal exams, patronizing educational videos, psychological exams, and my fave, an affidavit from a spouse confirming impotence -- for men wanting dick-stiffening drugs.

Others seek to restrict access to vasectomies except for men risking death or serious bodily harm, or to outlaw vasectomies altogether because they leave 'thousands of children . . . deprived of birth'.

I really like the ones requiring that men or the state bear the costs of children born to unwilling women.

Oklahoma: When a zygote-personhood bill came before the state Senate, Sen. Constance Johnson penned an amendment declaring that ejaculating anywhere outside a woman's vagina constitutes "an action against an unborn child." Bonus: Johnson also suggested that any man who impregnates a woman without her permission should pay a $25,000 fine, support the child until age 21, and get a vasectomy, "in the spirit of shared responsibility." In response to the same bill, state Sen. Jim Wilson proposed an amendment requiring the father of an unborn child to be financially responsible for its mother's health care, housing, transportation, and nourishment during pregnancy.

Texas: Contesting a bill mandating sonograms before abortions, Rep. Harold Dutton unsuccessfully offered three amendments in a row. The first would have required the state to pay the college tuition of children born to women who decide against an abortion after seeing a required ultrasound image. The second would have subsidized the children's health care costs until age 18. When that failed, he lowered the age to 6. That didn't fly, either.

You won't be surprised to learn that all these tit-for-tat bills or amendments have failed. But the rectal exam one failed by just two votes.

I'd love to see an avalanche of such legislation.

ADDED: Best one yet from Ohio. Eight humiliating steps men required to go through for Viagra scrip.

Okay, have you stopped laughing yet? I mean, can you imagine men subjecting themselves to a stress test every 90 days, let alone getting a paramour to put in writing that his junk’s busted?

The Ohio state legislature is controlled by Republicans. So, Turner’s bill most likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, if at all. Still, it’s brilliant in how it forces us to focus on the absurdity of many of the reproductive health measures littering the legislative landscape by zeroing in Ohio’s heartbeat bill. Asked yesterday by MSNBC's Chris Jansing if she were serious, Turner said she was.