In Oklahoma, Rep. Justin Humphrey (R) has struck up controversy with his proposed bill that limits a woman’s ability to have an abortion and refers to women as “hosts”.
The bill is supposed to require “male consent” if a woman wants an abortion. It contains an exception saying that the woman does not need consent if the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. The one woman on the committee was not present when the Public Health Committee voted for the bill. Also, it was voted to possibly be passed.
The problem with the bill is how it was presented to legislature. Referring to a woman as a “host” is very unprofessional and rude for Humphrey to say. Saying “host” is like saying that the woman is just an empty vessel ready to be used and impregnated by any male. I understand wanting to give consent to the father, but saying a woman is a “host” is not okay.
The representative also said that women should take proper precautions to not get pregnant. I think he fails to comprehend that it takes two people, a male and a female, to produce a child. So regardless of whether the man should have a say in the choice to have the abortion, the man should take proper precautions to not get the female pregnant in the first place. The bill takes away power from the woman and gives it to the man.
After receiving backlash over the use of the term “host,” Humphrey said that he Googled and went to Webster and that was the best term he was looking for. However, a better term instead of using host could be “pregnant woman” or “pregnant female.”
Though the baby is as much the father’s as it is the mother’s, taking away the mother’s access to abortion is not right. There are so many possibilities that could result from not making abortion the mother’s choice. The father could leave after the child’s birth, not staying in its life or giving child support, and the woman could have never wanted the child in the beginning. Now the woman has a “burden” on her hands because of the man.
As of now, Humphrey struck the title of the bill, meaning that changes are allowed to be made.
