Let's Talk About Vaginas: Speak Out About Michigan's Abortion Laws

“Finally, Mister Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina. But no means no,” declared Rep. Lisa Brown (D) in front of Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas (R), Speaker James Bolger (R),  and other Michigan lawmakers during the debate before a vote over proposed abortion legislation that took place mid-June. I find it strange that the word “vagina” should be taboo in discussions regarding state-wide abortion access, but Brown, along with Rep. Barb Byrum (D), found themselves gaveled down into silence during their speeches and later banned from speaking on the House Floor the following day.

Rep. Barb Byrum (Photo by Anne C. Savage)

While Brown’s reference to the dreaded word “vagina” is being cited as the reason for her punishment, Byrum uttered another uncomfortable v-word—“vasectomy.” Indeed, she argued that men pursuing vasectomies should have to face the same regulations as those proposed for a woman seeking an abortion, namely prohibiting vasectomies unless it was necessary to save the man’s life. “If we’re concerned about making sure babies are born, why are we not talking about vasectomies?” Byrum challenged later in an interview since she was unable to defend her Amendment on the Floor itself, as seen in this video.

We’re not talking about vasectomies because historically it is women, not men, who have borne the brunt of fertility issues (for just one example, look up the statistics on female sterilization in Puerto Rico). It also seems that these lawmakers are not actually concerned about babies or “preserving life,” but instead promote anti-choice legislation that’s motivated by control.

In controlling the Representatives’ right to speak, their dissenting voices were silenced and essentially discredited. Many, like the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, criticized this action as a violation of free speech regardless of the position on the abortion bills, saying “When the minority is silenced, justice cannot prevail and democracy suffers.” Expressing yourself in the public sphere is essential to female empowerment and identity— the Speaker’s actions make it seem like he’s far more comfortable with the old adage “women should be seen, not heard.”

The proposed bills would drastically alter access to abortions making this debate also about control over female bodies. Sadly, the Michigan bill is not unique in its attack—many anti-choice bills have been passed recently, including a Georgia bill where proponents’ rhetoric equates women to livestock, positing that if cows should carry a dead or dying fetus for the full term of pregnancy, then so should women.

Equally disconcerting, the Michigan legislation is made up of three bills, H.B. 5711, 5712, and 5713. Of the three, so far only H.B. 5711 has passed the House in a 70-39 vote. This bill contains measures that obstruct the abortion procedure: women must be screened to see if they have been coerced into pursuing an abortion and the doctor’s presence is now required for the prescription and administration of the non-surgical abortion pill RU-486. The other two bills are also controversial in that they challenge the Roe v. Wade ruling for legal abortions up to 24 weeks by seeking to ban abortions after 20 weeks, except to save a woman’s life.

(L-R) Rep. Rashida H. Tlaib, Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Lisa Brown, Eve Ensler, and Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (Photo by Anne C. Savage)

Restrictions like these are alarming. Reps. Brown and Byrum had justified reactions to obvious attempts to control women’s bodies, for which they were banned from speaking. Spokesman Ari Adler, claims that the women “failed to maintain the decorum of the House…[and] the proper level of maturity and civility.” The Representatives were further demeaned in radio interviews with GOP members likening their punishment to “giving a kid a timeout.” Other language used in news stories includes phrases like “temper tantrum” and “getting feisty,” all recalling hyper-emotional and sexual tropes long associated with women.

Brown and Byrum were not overreacting, There is nothing “over” nor inappropriate about the reaction. The work of hegemony relegates real, stifling, structurally violent injustices to the realm of the normal. After all, only in a world which is fair and gender-neutral could reactions like that of the Representatives be decried as overzealous. Hegemony promotes that this argument is about preferring euphemisms over anatomy terms when it’s really about the belief that women being able to speak about and have control over their own vaginas is not only improper, but that it’s a “radical” feminist rant that can be infantilized and dismissed.

This is precisely why Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, and female Michigan politicians made their voices heard. They performed the Tony Award-winning play on the Statehouse steps with over 5,000 supporters present. Read Ensler’s speech from the event and see photos and videos here.

Let’s not forget that those who suffer most under legislation like Michigan H.B. 5711 are those who have been silenced the longest, namely women of color, women of various sexual orientations, and those living in poverty. How does this legislation, and more like it, affect them specifically? Where can we hear their voices?

Whether you are pro or anti choice, let’s talk– because the greatest violence of all is silence.

For more detail on the bills and how they impede women’s rights, see my other post.

Photos courtesy of Anne C. Savage