In what feels like a reach even for him, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson attempted to undermine comments White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made about the recent ban on abortion in Texas by bringing up trans men.
Carlson suggested that Psaki forgot to "update" her "talking points" before she responded to a reporter in the White House briefing room, claiming that abortion is no longer a women's issue because "men get pregnant now."
You can hear his remarks at 5:22 in the video below.
Carlson began with the following:
"Things are changing so fast that a lot of people on the left are having trouble keeping up with the shifting justifications for the policies they want."
He then presented a clip of Psaki responding to a reporter who'd inquired why President Joe Biden would support abortion rights "when his own Catholic faith teaches [that] abortion is morally wrong."
To that, Psaki responded:
"He believes it's a woman's right. It's a woman's body and it's her choice."
"He believes that it's up to a woman to make those decisions and it's up for a woman to make those decisions with her doctor."
"I know you've never faced those choices nor have you ever been pregnant but for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing."
After he'd presented the clip, Carlson mimicking Psaki, likening her response to little more than a "sophomore year gender studies lecture."
[mimicking Psaki's response] "You've ever been pregnant before? I don't think so. You can't get pregnant because you're a man, so aboriton's a women's issue!"
He then proceeded to criticize an argument he claims is logically inconsistent and brought up trans men:
"They've been saying that for so long they forgot to update the talking points. You'd think Jen Psaki, when she does this for a living, she should know that men get pregnant now."
"The science people tell us that everyday: Men get pregnant. It's on the cover of magazines..."
"Now what does that mean? It means that abortion is now a men's issue."
"Men are childbearers, so men–dudes–have an equal right to choose to terminate their pregnancies, and they have a right to weigh in on the policy itself."
"It's not a women's issue anymore, Jen Psaki."
Carlson's remarks are misleading.
Anyone who has a uterus and ovaries can become pregnant and give birth to a child.
People who are born male and living as men cannot get pregnant. However, a transgender man or nonbinary person might be able to get pregnant.
But because it is only possible for a person to be pregnant if they have a uterus, it would be incorrect to suggest that people who are born male and living as men can get pregnant.
Male reproductive organs do not include a uterus.
It is also important to remember that the terms "man" and "woman" refer to a person's gender, which refers to the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between femininity and masculinity.
In addition to conflating the two issues, Carlson was criticized for once again using anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric on his program.
The Texas law in question went into effect after the Supreme Court voted not to block its implementation.
It prohibits virtually all abortions after a heartbeat is detected, which is typically after six weeks of pregnancy and empowers citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers suspected of violating the new policy.
Last week, President Joe Biden said the law "blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade," and said he had empowered the White House "to launch a whole-of-government effort to respond" to the Supreme Court's ruling.
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