A pair of Ohio Democrats are floating a measure to make it illegal for men to “discharge semen or genetic material without intent to fertilize an embryo,” according to a new report.
However, based on reports, the bill doesn’t appear to be a serious attempt at legislation but rather a bit of political theater to make a point.
Newsweek reported that state Reps. Anita Somani, D-Dublin, and Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, have not formally introduced the measure, which is colloquially called “Conception Begins at Erection.” A Mississippi lawmaker has introduced a similar measure.
“You don’t get pregnant on your own,” News 5 Cleveland quoted Somani as saying. “If you’re going to penalize someone for an unwanted pregnancy, why not penalize the person who is also responsible for the pregnancy?”
As envisioned, the measure would include a $1,000 fine for the first offense, a $5,000 fine for the second offense, and a $10,000 fine for subsequent infractions. According to a report, the proposal would include several exemptions, including for sperm donation and LGBTQ community members.
In an op-ed published in The Columbus Dispatch, Somani said the proposal has “gotten more attention than any other bill I’ve introduced since becoming a state representative.”
The proposal likely doesn’t stand much chance in the Republican-controlled state legislature. However, based on Rader’s comment in a report on the website of My Fox 28 in Columbus, the lawmakers don’t seem serious about passing the proposal.
“For this particular bill, that’s certainly okay,” the station quoted Rader as saying. “Again, the whole point of the bill was not to get it passed; the bill was to call out the hypocrisy.”
Added Somani, an obstetrician-gynecologist, per CW Columbus, “This may be considered a waste of money by some people, but we have had a far bigger misuse of taxpayer money on bills that have been passed.”
Following the passage of Issue 1 in November 2023, abortion rights have been codified in the state’s constitution. Abortion is legal in the state up to the point of fetal viability.
According to the Fox affiliate, Austin Beigel with End Abortion Ohio said the proposal would waste state resources.
“They have to review it when they file it, put a team on it, wasting time on that, delaying other bills that are trying to be reviewed as well,” the station quoted Beigel as saying. “I think the average Ohioan is going to look at this, roll their eyes, and say, ‘Come on, this is what I pay taxes for?’”
According to a WSYX-TV ABC 6 online poll, the public seems to agree. The poll found that nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) think the recommendation is a good idea, while 76% deem it a waste of time.
“How stupid! This is how our lawmakers are spending their time. How about focusing on issues that will help people like housing and food for the needy,” one commenter said in response to a post on the station’s Facebook page.
Republicans agree.
“It’s beyond ridiculous what’s going on here,” News 5 Cleveland quoted Beigel, who was tied to an Ohio House seat race last year, as saying. “It’s a mockery of the most basic biological concepts.”
“...The pro-life movement has never tried to regulate women’s bodies,” Beigel added, per the Cleveland television report. “We’re trying to regulate the actions of people who want to kill another person.”
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, state Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, said that some of his “colleagues clearly missed biology class.”
“We are talking about conception happening before a sperm fertilizes an egg,” Statehouse News Bureau and Ideastream Public Media quoted Ferguson as saying. “Clearly, somebody doesn’t understand simple biology.”
