Earth to Male Politicians: "Women Don't Get Pregnant By Themselves"

One of the worst trends of 2017 is male politicians complaining about having maternity coverage on their insurance packages. The latest to do that is one Pete Olson from Texas, in an absurd attempt to defend Trumpcare.

Fortunately pro-choice group NARAL (whose president Ilyse Hogue, chatted with Kveller this spring) was there with a righteous Tweetstorm to shut that whole thing down (we hope), using this crazy thing called science.

If everyone opts out of insurance coverage for things they don’t think pertain to them, then the social contract is kaput. So much for all of us being in this together.

.@RepPeteOlson laughs about prenatal care cvrg: “We have what’s called an X chromosome, which means we can’t have a baby.” #HealthcareBill pic.twitter.com/3ZRvjdZHHj

— Reproductive Freedom for All (@reproforall) June 26, 2017

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“Why do we have to pay for that cvrg we can’t use?” This again? Really, @RepPeteOlson? Okay, let’s just break down this sexist absurdity:

— Reproductive Freedom for All (@reproforall) June 26, 2017

1) It’s your Y chromosome that prevents you from having children. Not your X. Just thought we’d clear that up.

— Reproductive Freedom for All (@reproforall) June 26, 2017

5) Women don’t get pregnant by themselves. If Texas had comprehensive sex ed, that might be more clear to you, but here’s another reminder.

— Reproductive Freedom for All (@reproforall) June 26, 2017

6) GOP: Several of your members have now come out *against prenatal care.* Can we now count “misogyny” as an official part of your platform? pic.twitter.com/JXkxa6rOCy

— Reproductive Freedom for All (@reproforall) June 26, 2017

Sarah M. Seltzer

Sarah Seltzer, former editor for Kveller, is a writer and editor in New York City. She is a journalist covering culture, activism and gender, most recently as Deputy Editor at culture website Flavorwire.com. Her print and online work has appeared in publications including Poets & Writers, The Forward, Lilith, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Salon, The Nation, The Wall Street Journal, Jezebel, The Hairpin, Refinery29, The Toast, Rolling Stone, and many more. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she edited The Crimson’s weekend magazine, as well as the MFA in writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first baby, Mikey, is growing up way too fast and she can objectively report that he is very cute. You can follow her at @sarahmseltzer and reach her at sarah@kveller.com.