A Democratic Mississippi state senator introduced legislation this week that would make it unlawful for men to masturbate “without the intent to fertilize an embryo,” with the lawmaker criticizing anti-abortion measures that only “focus on the woman’s role.”
The bill, dubbed the Contraception Begins at Erection Act, was introduced by state Sen. Bradford Blackmon on Monday. For those convicted of violating the law, financial penalties will be imposed and will gradually increase.
The first penalty would be $1,000, the second one would be $5,000, and a fine of $10,000 would be imposed for third or subsequent offenses.
Blackmon, a first-term legislator, included two exceptions, the first being for sperm donations and the other when using contraception that would prevent fertilization.
“All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation,” Blackmon said in a statement to WLBT News.
“This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation,” he added. “People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me.”
If the legislation passes the Republican-led state Legislature and gets signed by Gov. Tate Reeves (R), it will take effect July 1.
Mississippi, along with 12 other states, has a total or near-total ban on abortion, according to KFF, a nonprofit focused on health policies. Six other states have banned abortion from six to 12 weeks of gestation.
“When a bill has been filed that would regulate what a man is able to do with his own body in his own home, it suddenly has people in an uproar,” Blackmon told Newsweek. “I am trying to figure out when it is OK for the government to dictate what you do in the privacy of your own home. Apparently, it is when the laws regulate men.”
