A Democratic state senator in Mississippi has reportedly received death threats after introducing a bill that would make masturbation illegal unless it is carried out with the intent to create a child.
State Sen. Bradford Blackmon said he introduced his Contraception Begins at Erection Act as a satirical response to Mississippi state law which bans women from having abortions, with limited exceptions to save the mother’s life or if the pregnancy resulted from rape.
Newsweek contacted Sen. Blackmon for comment via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Abortion shot up the political agenda in June 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade, the 1973 ruling which had made abortion access a constitutional right.
In response, a wave of Republican-controlled states passed legislation banning abortion with limited exemptions, though some states amended their constitutions to protect abortion access after public votes.
What To Know
TMZ says Blackmon received death threats among some “vile” messages from men angry about the bill he introduced banning masturbation. However he also claimed to have had an “80 percent positive” response from women, while the male reaction was “about 50/50” between supporters and opponents.
Blackmon introduced the Contraception Begins at Erection Act to the Mississippi Legislature this month, though it has virtually no chance of passing the Republican-controlled body. The bill would make it a criminal offense for anyone in Mississippi to “discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.”
Mississippi State Senate
Anyone convicted of this would be fined $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for the second offense and then $10,000 for any additional offenses.
The bill makes exemptions for the discharge of genetic material which is “donated or sold to a facility for the purpose of future procedures to fertilize an embryo,” or “discharged with the use of a contraceptive or contraceptive method intended to prevent fertilization of an embryo.”
What People Are Saying
In his interview with TMZ Blackmon said: “I can’t even count how many emails, voicemails, Instagram messages, Facebook messages—but what I will say is I break it down into the response from men and women. From women it’s about 80 percent positive, thank you—finally you’re putting a spotlight on the men’s role, there’s about 20 percent of the responses from women that are saying that I’m wasting time, wasting taxpayer money.
“And then on the men’s side it’s actually about 50/50. About 50 percent go ‘thanks for pointing this out, I’ve got daughters, its always about what they can do and what they can’t do … and the 50 percent of men are upset. They are mad. I guess it’s the times we live in now because you can just type something and hit send but I’m getting some of the most vile things that people can imagine.”
On X, the progressive ‘Occupy Democrats’ account, which has over 690,000 followers, said Blackmon’s bill “has Republicans seething with rage.” They added: “The dehumanizing, controlling language perfectly mirrors the rhetoric that Republicans use when discussing women’s bodies and the right to choose.”
What Happens Next
Blackmon has been open about the fact his bill is satirical, and the Republicans control both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature, so its chances of passing into law are virtually zero. However abortion will almost certainly remain a highly contentious issue with supporters and critics backing rival legislation in key swing states.
