Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz was called out after he said women who "look like a thumb" shouldn't concern themselves with advocating for abortion rights.
Gaetz's remarks were his latest dig at reproductive rights activists since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
During a speech he gave at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa over the weekend, Gaetz said "women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions" at "pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies."
He suggested instead of marching at rallies, unattractive women should "march for like an hour a day" and "get the blood pumpin'."
You can hear what Gaetz said in the video below.
Gaetz said:
“Have you watched these pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies?”
"The people are just disgusting. Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?”
“Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb. These people are odious from the inside out."
“They’re like 5′2,″ 350 pounds, and they’re like, ‘Give me my abortions or I’ll get up and march and protest.’”
“A few of them need to get up and march — they need to get up and march for like an hour a day. Swing those arms, get the blood pumpin’, maybe mix in a salad.”
Gaetz's remarks were swiftly condemned for his sexist and misogynist commentary.
Gaetz's attack denigrating reproductive rights activists' appearances brings to mind a similar remark he made in May shortly after a leaked draft opinion indicated the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization would move to strike down Roe.
Gaetz was heavily criticized after he referred to pro-choice activists as "over-educated, under-loved millennials" and suggested they're only angry about a rightward shift in reproductive rights because they can't get matches on dating apps.
Writing on Twitter, he said women protesting the fall of Roe will likely "sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats" and "no matches" on Bumble, a popular online dating application.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
