Lawmaker Calls For Masturbation Fines To Mock Abortion Law
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AUSTIN, Texas (CBSMiami/AP) — A Texas lawmaker is trying to make a point about legislation that restricts women's access to healthcare and abortions by proposing men get fined $100 when they masturbate.
Alongside the penalty for wasting semen not resulting in a pregnancy, state Rep. Jessica Farrar's bill would require a "medically unnecessary digital rectal exam" before any man undergoes a vasectomy or can be prescribed Viagra.
The 11th term Democrat tells the Houston Chronicle that her bill mimics how a woman seeking an abortion is forced by Texas law to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound, which "has nothing to do with her health care."
She says while some people think it's funny, her bill highlights the obstacles women face "that were placed there by legislatures making it very difficult for them to access health care."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)