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An Alabama lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require all men to get a vasectomy after the birth of their third child or after they turn 50, whichever comes first.

Rep. Roland Hollis (D-AL) is using the proposal as a way to flip the script on reproductive health laws, including Alabama's abortion ban.

The measure may seem a little crazy, but being an American woman, it doesn't seem all that different from government legislating birth control, abortion, or even taxation of sanitary items.

Why should the conversation of unwanted pregnancies always lead to the responsibility of the woman and her option to choose? Why doesn't unwanted pregnancy legislation include men and their bodies?

These questions are likely the reason for the proposed Alabama legislation rather than a true effort to make men get sterilized. But Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) took to Twitter to share his opinion about the proposal:

Uh... I'm sure that I'll get an endless parade of hate mail after this, but does this not scream of hypocrisy? If the government is allowed to legislate my reproductive options as a woman, why then is it such a shocking suggestion to allow the government to legislate the same options for men?

Regardless of which side you land on the abortion debate, doesn't it seem reasonable to suggest that a man's body is one that the government should have the authority to decide whether or not they should be able to make a baby?

It's certain to be a topic that will continue to divide our country, but I'd like to have a better understanding of what makes it acceptable for a group of mostly men to create laws that will impact lives of women without having an equally impactful set of laws for men.

Isn't it time that we as a nation begin to consider ALL options to avoid unwanted pregnancies rather than only exploring the options that affect women and their bodies?

 

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