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Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican who represents Missouri, was slammed for suggesting women who've had hysterectomies aren't women.
Hawley made the remarks during an interview with The Huffington Post, which asked several Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to define the word "woman," a callback to GOP questions for Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her recent Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearing.
Hawley offered a shallow answer, suggesting womanhood is tied to a woman's ability to give birth to a child.
Hawley said:
"Someone who can give birth to a child, a mother, is a woman. Someone who has a uterus is a woman. It doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”
However, when the reporter asked Hawley if his definition applied to women who have had hysterectomies, Hawley appeared uncertain and answered the question with another question:
“Yeah. Well, I don’t know, would they? I mean, a woman has a vagina… Right?”
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, a procedure that is typically performed by a gynecologist. The most common type of hysterectomy is a total hysterectomy, which removes all of the uterus, including the cervix. The ovaries and the fallopian tubes may or may not be removed.
By contrast, a partial, also called subtotal or supracervical, hysterectomy removes just the upper part of the uterus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that hysterectomies are quite common, estimating that "1 of 3 women in the United States has had one by age 60."
Hawley's remarks were particularly criticized by women who took him to task over his cluelessness about female reproductive health.
Others shared stories about how hysterectomies have impacted their lives.
This guy needs a "his-terectomy."https://www.rawstory.com/josh-hawley-define-woman/\u00a0\u2026— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1649256265
Josh Hawley defined a woman as someone who has a uterus. He didn't know if a woman was still a woman if she no longer had a uterus due to a hysterectomy!\n\nThen he changed it to someone who has a vagina!\n\nThis is how the GOP think of women!\n\nWe are so much more!\n#FreshWords— Feisty is proud to be a Democrat! (@Feisty is proud to be a Democrat!) 1649330777
My uterus got cooked because it was misbehaving and will never hold a potential person plus my ovary got removed.\n\nYET I AM STILL A WOMAN, YOU TREASONOUS HUMAN SHAPED POTATO HEAD.\n\nJosh Hawley is a danger to all living beings and the planet.https://twitter.com/QueenMab87/status/1512067272927449095\u00a0\u2026— lisa rokusek (@lisa rokusek) 1649363223
Of all the people who do not get to define what a woman is, Josh Treason Hawley doesn\u2019t get to the most.https://twitter.com/jackiantonovich/status/1512007525885001728\u00a0\u2026— Rebecca Fachner (@Rebecca Fachner) 1649327875
This is a perfect "gotcha" against monstrous hacks like Hawkey but the answer "I don't know" also speaks loudly in terms of the history of forced sterilization in this country.https://twitter.com/jackiantonovich/status/1512007525885001728\u00a0\u2026— Michael E. Carter, M.A. (@Michael E. Carter, M.A.) 1649333726
So, it looks like I need to have a convo with Josh. /s\nI guess when I have my hysterectomy, according to his definition, I'll be non-binary? I mean, I will no longer be a woman because of lack of uterus, but I won't be a man either. https://twitter.com/jackiantonovich/status/1512007525885001728\u00a0\u2026— Just Shannon (@Just Shannon) 1649342685
Hey Josh Hawley!! Due to having cancer from a gene mutation, I\u2019ve had my uterus, ovaries, Fallopian tubes and both breasts removed. Guess what, I\u2019m still a woman!!— Janet DiPetrillo (@Janet DiPetrillo) 1649365285
@HawleyMO So according to Mr. Hawley, my Irish Catholic mother who gave birth to 14 children. and later in life had her uterus removed, was not a woman? Seriously Mr. Hawley, do better.— MMarie D'Angelo (@MMarie D'Angelo) 1649370731
\u201cSomeone who has a uterus is a woman. It doesn\u2019t seem that complicated to me.\u201d -Sen Josh Hawley\n\nWell Josh, mine had to be taken out due to tumors & hemorrhaging that could have caused my death. #IAmAWoman & so is anyone who defines themselves so.\n\n#ONEV1https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-ketanji-brown-jackson-woman_n_624c9967e4b0d8266ab22274?5uf\u00a0\u2026— Danielle says Slava Ukraini \ud83c\udf3b (@Danielle says Slava Ukraini \ud83c\udf3b) 1649306618
It's hard to keep up with the stupidity out of @HawleyMO 's mouth. That's when it's not full of racism. But I assure you Senator, the removal of my uterus did not make me less of a woman. 1/https://www.rawstory.com/josh-hawley-define-woman/\u00a0\u2026— Portia Vaxxed and Boosted McGonagal (@Portia Vaxxed and Boosted McGonagal) 1649252720
Republicans have been preoccupied with the definition of "woman" since a widely talked about moment shortly after confirmation hearings for Jackson kicked off last month.
When asked for a definition for the word "woman," Jackson, who Democratic President Joe Biden nominated and who has now been confirmed to replace the outgoing Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, told Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn that she could not because "in this context, I’m not a biologist.”
The preoccupation with the word "woman" and gender overall is a further example of how transgender issues have recently galvanized the far right, taking a spot at the forefront of attacks conservatives have directed toward the LGBTQ+ community in what has become one of the more defining elements of the culture wars.