Oklahoma Republican Proposes Legislation to Ban Abortions Unless the Father Approves It

This is what happens when you elect conservative Christians to political office. They propose legislation to advance their religious agenda without giving a second thought — or even a first thought — to the implications of their actions.

In Oklahoma, freshman State Rep. Justin Humphrey‘s House Bill 1441 would not allow a woman to have an abortion without the consent of the father. She would have to provide the identity of the father, allow him to get a paternity test if he wanted (delaying said abortion), with exceptions offered only in the cases of rape and incest. That still means that women who are victims of domestic abuse would have to get their partner’s permission to have control over her own body.

A similar law was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1992.

Making things worse was Humphrey himself, who offered a pathetic rationale for his bill to The Intercept:

Ultimately, he said, his intent was to let men have a say. “I believe one of the breakdowns in our society is that we have excluded the man out of all of these types of decisions,” he said. “I understand that they feel like that is their body,” he said of women. “I feel like it is a separate — what I call them is, is you’re a ‘host.’ And you know when you enter into a relationship you’re going to be that host and so, you know, if you pre-know that then take all precautions and don’t get pregnant,” he explained. “So that’s where I’m at. I’m like, hey, your body is your body and be responsible with it. But after you’re irresponsible then don’t claim, well, I can just go and do this with another body, when you’re the host and you invited that in.”

Because the only reason women have abortions is because they were irresponsible. It’s the sort of foolish, narrow, ignorant thinking that’s a mainstay of evangelical churches. Good thing we have Pastor Humphrey to slut-shame women who make decisions he doesn’t like. Women need to know they don’t control their own bodies; they only think they do.

His logic doesn’t make sense in other ways, either. If a woman is the “host,” then what does that make the fetus? And if the father approves of the abortion, is Humphrey suddenly okay wth it?

Let’s be honest: Republicans like Humphrey don’t give a damn about women. His own language is proof of that. All he wants to do is put another obstacle in the way of women making their own health care decisions.

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