Texas lawmaker wants men to be charged $100 for masturbation
Jessica Farrar, a Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill which intends to fine men $100 every time they masturbate. The bill also puts a 24-hour wait period for a man wanting colonoscopy or a vasectomy or looking to buy Viagra. Farrar, fighter for women's health intends to point the sexist double standard which prohibits women from getting abortions.
Texas: An abortion clinic desert
Texas doesn't permit abortions for "women past the 20-week mark unless their life is endangered". Almost 11% of Texas women live 100 miles from an abortion clinic and almost 5% live 200 miles away making abortions rather costly and inconvenient. Almost 96% of Texas counties didn't have clinics providing abortions, as of 2014. The state even tried restricting doctors who could perform abortions.
Curious case of dwindling abortion centres in Texas
Because of the restrictive laws in Texas, the count of abortion clinics fell from "44 to 18 after the state passed restrictions on abortion clinics and doctors." The restrictions were overturned in 2014 by the Supreme Court, however, till then the damage had been done.
Opponents criticise the bill and Farrar
Republicans came out in vehement critique of Farrar's bill. Tony Tinderholt who proposed to charge aborting women with murder charges said: "I'm embarrassed for Representative Farrar. Her attempt to compare to the abortion issue shows a lack of a basic understanding of human biology". He even went as far as suggesting she took high school biology lessons before introducing any such bill.
Man's Right to Know Act takes a jibe at Texas
Explaining the "Man's Right to Know Act" Farrar said men would be fined as they fail to "preserve the sanctity of life" and "an act against an unborn child." In Texas, a pamphlet called the "A Woman's Right to Know," exists which had received severe backlash for being inaccurate, influenced by ideology and religion and meant to deter women from seeking abortions.
