‘Don’t say vagina’ bill faces vote in Michigan senate committee

By Kay Steiger/Raw Story

A controversial anti-abortion Michigan bill that prompted Rep. Lisa Brown (D) to be banned from the house floor for saying the word “vagina” faces a vote in the state’s senate committee on Thursday.

The bill would implement a host of regulatory requirements for abortion providers, including special licensure, elaborate tissue disposal requirements, mandated screening for women seeking an abortion and a ban on remote counseling for taking medical abortion pills. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which opposes such regulations, said, “These excessive and unnecessary government regulations – an ever-growing trend among state legislatures – increase the cost and scarcity of abortion services, harming women’s health and inhibiting their reproductive choices.”

Her objections to the bill prompted Rep. Brown to say, “I’m flattered you’re all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no.”

Republicans then banned her and another Democrat from speaking on the floor, saying her use of the word “vagina” was a violation of “decorum.”

After Brown was banned from speaking, she and other activists gathered on the state capitol steps to perform “The Vagina Monologues” in protest.

The bill was overwhelmingly passed in the Republican-led Michigan state house. A Republican majority also controls Michigan’s state senate, but it’s unlikely the entire senate will vote on the bill until after it returns from a recess on August 15, according to MLive.

Watch the interview with Brown, broadcast on CNN on June 21.

As Punishment For Opposing Anti-Abortion Bill, Male Michigan House Leader Bans Two Female Reps From Speaking

By Amanda Peterson Beadle/Think Progress

A male Republican House leader in Michigan silenced two female Democratic state legislators on Thursday after the pair tried to advance a measure that would have reduced access to vasectomies.

While discussing a bill that would erode the availability of abortion, Reps. Barb Byrum and Lisa Brown introduced an amendment to apply the same regulations to vasectomies that GOP lawmakers wanted to add to abortion services. The debate grew heated, as Republicans sought to gravel down the women. Byrum was not permitted to speak in favor of the measure and Brown was repeatedly interrupted. “I’m flattered that you want to get in my vagina, but no means no,” she said. The next day both were silenced. Watch their comments:

Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas (R) was “uncomfortable with me saying vasectomy,” Byrum explained, noting that no one told her why she had been banned or how long it would last. “I can only assume it’s because I stood up for my district and women in Michigan yesterday,” she added.

Ari Adler, spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger (R), said the women “will not be recognized to speak on the House floor today after being gaveled down for their comments and actions yesterday that failed to maintain the decorum of the House of Representatives.”