A California law professor accused a U.S. Senator of being transphobic before Congress this week for suggesting that only women can give birth. The exchange with US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) happened on Tuesday in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing held on “A Post-Roe America: The Legal Consequences of the Dobbs Decision.”
UC Berkeley professor Khiara M. Bridges was also asked questions about why she wants more black babies aborted and if she places any value on unborn babies. She couldn’t or wouldn’t answer either question.
With the Supreme Court decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, the discussion of abortion has been prevalent now more than ever.
Bridges, a Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law, lists her areas of expertise as Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Critical Legal Theory, Family Law, Children’s Rights, and Reproductive Rights, Racial and Social Justice.
The conflict with Hawley arose after Professor Bridges continued to use the term people “with the capacity for pregnancy” while arguing for abortion rights and against the recent overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This resulted in Senator Hawley asking Bridges, “You’ve used a phrase that I want to understand what you mean by it. You’ve referred to people with the capacity of pregnancy, would that be women?”
“Many women, cis women have the capacity of pregnancy,” Bridges responded. “Many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as non-binary people who are capable of pregnancy.”
Hawley then responded with the simple question that Bridges found offensive. “So this isn’t really a women’s rights issue, it’s a what?”
“I want to recognize your line of questioning as transphobic,” Bridges said. “And it opens up trans people to violence by not recognizing them.”
That’s when the conversation really heated up. “Wow, you say I’m opening up people to violence by asking whether or not women are the folks who can have pregnancies” Hawley exclaimed.
In order to prove her point that Hawley’s “violent” questions show he denies the existence of trans people, causing high rates of suicide, Bridges asked the Senator the following question, “Do you believe that men can get pregnant?”
Hawley responded without hesitation, “No, I don’t think men can get pregnant.” Bridges immediately proclaimed, “So, you are denying that trans people exist!”
The left quickly applauded and praised Bridges for this interaction, while conservatives exclaimed the world has gone mad. No matter what one may ‘identify’ as, anyone that is a biological male does not have the ability to become pregnant.
Here you can watch Senator Hawleys’ and Professor Bridges’ discussion:
After the hearing Hawley himself tweeted;
According to today’s Democrat party, if you believe that only women get pregnant, you are a bigot and responsible for violence https://t.co/zaknx7iWTy
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 12, 2022
Bridge Argues for More Aborted Black Babies
Bridges’ also testified that the overturning of Roe V. Wade would fall hardest on black people. “Black people turn to abortion care more frequently than other racial groups. Indeed, black people’s abortion rate is three to four times white people’s abortion rate.” Her focus on this topic sparked questions from US Senator John Cornyn, from Texas.
Senator asked, “You believe there ought to be more black babies aborted, is that right?”
Bridges responded, “I believe that we ought to create the conditions under which people can lead lives that are filled with dignity and humanity,” to which Cornyn then again asked, “So your way of thinking that happens when more black babies are aborted?”
Cornyn continues, “Do you think that a baby that is delivered alive has value?”
After a pause Bridges answers, “Yes.”
Cornyn followed up with, “Do you think that a baby that is not yet born has value?”
Bridges launched into a speech about the value of a person with the capacity for pregnancy, but avoided Cornyn’s question. When Cornyn pointed out her refusal to answer the question, she responded, “I’m answering a more interesting question to me.”
Here you can watch Senator Cornyn and Professor Bridges’ conversation.
Bridges has a long list of published works including; “Pregnancy and the Carceral State,” “Beyond Torts: Reproductive Wrongs and the State,” “Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality,” and “Pregnancy, Medicaid, State Regulation, and the Production of Unruly Bodies.” Despite all of Bridges’ background and studies done on pregnancy, and reproduction, she is unable to answer simple questions about if only women can get pregnant, which is a basic question, with a simple scientifically proven answer: yes, only biological females can get pregnant.
Professor Bridges teaches a class at Berkeley called “Reproductive Rights and Justice,” a class that advocates for a ‘right to abortion’ in the Constitution even though the Supreme Court correctly decided that there is no right to abortion anywhere in the Constitution.
While there are many false claims being used regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade, let’s remember two things: only women can get pregnant, and you don’t fight racism by insisting more black people should be aborted. Let’s also remember to help all women who face unplanned pregnancies.
