Law Professor Khiara Bridges Schools Sen. Josh Hawley During Roe Hearing

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, July 12 over the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley argued with UC Berkeley School of Law professor, Khiara Bridges about who can or cannot get pregnant, in a video that has since gone viral.

Roe V. Wade was a critical case ruled in 1973 that provided a constitutional right to an abortion. The half-century guarantee to abortion, recently overturned, has been referred to as a women’s rights issue, once again leaving trans and nonbinary people out of the conversation, regardless of their ability to get pregnant and their need to access reproductive healthcare.

While testifying, Bridges refers to “people with a capacity for pregnancy,” rather than pregnant women, igniting the argument that Tuesday morning.

“Professor Bridges, you’ve said several times, you’ve used a phrase that I want to make sure I understand what you mean by it, you referred to ‘people with a capacity for pregnancy,’ would that be women?” Hawley asks.

“Many women, cis women, have the capacity for pregnancy, many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy, as well as nonbinary people, who are capable of pregnancy.” Bridges point out.

The argument continues:

H: “So this isn’t really a women’s rights issue, it’s a, it’s a what?”
B: “We can recognize that this impacts women while also recognizing that it impacts other groups; those things are not mutually exclusive, Senator Hawley.”
H: “Oh, so your view is, is that the core of this right then is about what?”
B: “So I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic, and it opens up trans people to violence by not recognizing that.”
H: “Wow, you’re saying that I’m opening up people to violence by asking whether or not women are the folks who can have pregnancies?”
B: “So I want to note that one out of five transgender persons have attempted suicide, so I think it’s important—”
H: “Because of my line of questioning? We can’t talk about it?”
B: “Because denying that trans people exist and pretending not to know that they exist is—”
H: “I’m denying that trans people exist by asking you if you’re talking about women?”
B: “Do you believe that men can get pregnant?”
H: “No, I don’t think so.”
B: “So you’re denying that trans people exist.”

Continued education is necessary to cultivate inclusion when talking about reproductive healthcare and reproductive rights, and to decrease the stigma around gender-inclusive healthcare. Reproductive healthcare needs to be inclusive of everyone, including LGBTQ people who get pregnant and or use birth control.

“Although the visibility of the transgender community has increased, the exposure of healthcare providers to transgender individuals, especially transgender men during pregnancy, as well as research that addresses evidence-based practice remain limited,” Science Direct says. “The reproductive desires of transgender men appear to be similar to those of cisgender individuals. Some transgender men will have highly desired pregnancies, whereas others perceive pregnancy as necessary to start a family. Studies suggest that unintended pregnancies are also common, occurring in approximately 30% of transgender men in one study.”

This only shows how much trans and gender-nonconforming people who get pregnant need to be included in the conversation and fight for reproductive rights.

Many medical providers are unprepared to care for transgender and gender-expansive patients, often pushing patients away from receiving the care they need. This could be caused by a lack of training opportunities, educational resources, or LGBTQ representation in the medical world. Though changes will not happen quickly, affirming reproductive care is necessary to make sure that those in the LGBTQ community feel comfortable reaching out and receiving reproductive healthcare.

Photo courtesy of Twitter