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Khiara M. Bridges—a law professor at the University of California Berkeley—criticized Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling him "transphobic" to his face during a particularly tense exchange.
Hawley had criticized Bridges for referring to "people with a capacity for pregnancy" as being affected by abortion rather than women. He seemed visibly upset when she said she wanted to “recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic and it opens up trans people to violence.”
Hawley pushed back when Bridges said he is “pretending [trans people] don’t exist"—even though he responded "no" to her question as to whether he believes men can get pregnant.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
\u201cBridges to Hawley: I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1657642732
Notable within the exchange were Bridges' remarks to Hawley about the benefits of using inclusive language, pointing out that it is possible to "recognize that [abortion] impacts women while also recognizing that it impacts other groups."
Bridges noted that "Those things are not mutually exclusive," a worthwhile reminder to both politicians and the viewing audience as the nation continues to reel from last month's news that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade—the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
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.
Many have criticized Hawley and praised Bridges for speaking out.
\u201cThank you for your service, Professor Bridges\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd\n\nAlso lol @ Hawley\u2019s feigned shock at the recognition that he incites violence. The man raised a fist w/ Jan 6th-ers who yelled \u201cHang Mike Pence\u201d & fundraised off it.\n\nNow he wants to be all \u201cMe?? Opening people to violence??\ud83d\ude24\u201d\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1657651252
\u201cDr. Bridges eviscerated him so easily.\n\nHawley really should avoid arguments with those who know their subject matter.\u201d— Sober Resister \u262e\ufe0f (@Sober Resister \u262e\ufe0f) 1657651212
\u201cBless Bridges. Calling this out is so vital.\u201d— Ana Mardoll (@Ana Mardoll) 1657647418
\u201cProfessor Khiara Bridges is a hero, not just for making mince meat out of a white supremacist bigot here, but also for using her platform to defend trans people. I can't thank her enough. What an amazing moment.\u201d— Sheryl Ring, radical anti-poverty lawyer (@Sheryl Ring, radical anti-poverty lawyer) 1657648461
\u201cPlaying intentionally stupid to make the minoritized person seem insane/crazy/angry. \n\nHe is white supremacy in action and I am so glad that Bridges didn't back down.\u201d— Dr. Jon Paul (They/Them/Tired) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u270a\ud83c\udffe (@Dr. Jon Paul (They/Them/Tired) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u270a\ud83c\udffe) 1657648595
\u201cThis professor is giving a whole lesson.\u201d— Lauren Hipp (@Lauren Hipp) 1657649160
\u201cBelow: a US Senator is so fragile he interrupts the person answering his question to accuse her of silencing him by suggesting that refusing to acknowledge the existence of trans people leads to violence. (Which it obviously, demonstrably does, as he obviously knows.)\u201d— Jesse Thorn \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Jesse Thorn \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1657650085
\u201cIt's hard for some people to hear about, much less understand, the transgender experience. But if nothing else is news to you in this clip, I hope you hear Professor Bridges statistic that 1 in 5 transgender people attempt suicide. In many places LGBTQ issues are life issues.\u201d— James Martin, SJ (@James Martin, SJ) 1657650187
\u201c1. Prof. Khiara Bridges is fantastic. 2. It's such a tell that Hawley thinks a professor wouldn't want students to challenge their claims or call it out if we were being exclusionary like he is.\u201d— Laura Seay (@Laura Seay) 1657646840
Hawley was slammed in April for suggesting women who've had hysterectomies, a procedure that involves the surgical removal of the uterus, 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.
Republicans have been preoccupied with the definition of "woman" since a widely talked about moment shortly after confirmation hearings for Jackson kicked off.
When asked for a definition for the word "woman," Jackson, who Democratic President Joe Biden nominated and who has now been officially confirmed and appointed 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.