This Monday, Democratic state senator Bradford Blackmon of Mississippi submitted a bill that would appear to forbid males from masturbating or performing other sexual actions if they do not have the “intent to fertilize an embryo.”
Under the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act,” it would be illegal for “a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.” It has exclusions for sperm donation and the use of birth control to avoid conception.
Fines of $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second offense, and $10,000 for any further infractions would be imposed by the law, which was submitted on Monday.
It seems unlikely that the plan will pass the Republican-controlled Legislature, but if it does and is signed into law by Republican Governor Tate Reeves, it will take effect in July.
Requests for response from Blackmon, a first-term senator from a district north of the capital, Jackson, were not immediately answered.
Blackmon made reference to the large number of state legislative proposals that have been presented in recent years that target women’s access to reproductive health care, particularly abortion and contraception, in a statement to NBC affiliate WLBTof Jackson.
“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,” he stated. “This measure draws attention to that fact and includes the role of the guy in the discussion. I can’t say that concerns me, but others can get all worked up over it and label it ridiculous.
Legislators in Republican-led states have attempted more and more to limit access to abortion and contraception after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the constitutional right to an abortion.
According to KFF, a nonprofit organization that studies health policy issues, there are currently six states that prohibit abortion between six and twelve weeks of pregnancy, and 12 states, including Mississippi, have complete or nearly complete abortion restrictions.
The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that advocates for women’s access to abortion, reports that by the middle of 2024, eight states had either proposed or implemented limits on women’s access to contraception.