Bridges to Hawley: I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic pic.twitter.com/rCeVaB3XJY
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 12, 2022
A law professor took Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) to task yesterday, and the nation got to watch through the wonders of C-SPAN.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on legal concerns in a post-Roe America, University of California, Berkeley Law Professor Khiara Bridges promptly pulled a “Not today, Satan” moment with Hawley.
Throughout her testimony, Bridges used trans-inclusive terminology when discussing the legal impacts of the overturn of Roe v. Wade and highlighted how the decision would impact Blacks and “people with a capacity for pregnancy." Hawley was apparently confused at this phrase.
“Professor Bridges, you’ve said several times, you’ve used the phrase, I want to make sure I understand what you mean by it, you’ve referred to ‘people with a capacity for pregnancy,’” Hawley said in the clip. “Would that be women?”
“Many women, cis women, have the capacity for pregnancy,” Bridges replied. “Many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as non-binary people who are capable of pregnancy.”
And Hawley kept at it, refusing to let a single moment pass without being a total embarrassment to the state of Missouri.
“So this isn’t really a women’s rights issue?" he asked. Bridges said it should be recognized that abortion access affects women, while also recognizing that it impacts other groups.
“Those things are not mutually exclusive, Senator Hawley,” she said.
Hawley then asked what abortion rights are about if they’re not about women, and this is where someone should’ve handed Bridges a mic to drop by the end of the clip.
She started by telling Hawley his line of questioning was transphobic and by erasing trans and nonbinary folk from the discussion, it opens up them up to violence. Hawley, a man who raised his fist in solidarity at the January 6 insurrectionists, immediately takes offense that someone would ever say he would encourage violence.
Hawley tried to interrupt Bridges as she spoke, but Bridges was able to ask him a question: Do you believe that men can get pregnant?
When Hawley answered in the negative, she pointed out that he was pretending trans men do not exist.
Clearly enamored with the sound of his own voice, Hawley asked if this is how Bridges runs her classroom. (As a side note, one of Bridges' students Tweeted after this video went viral to say that her class is one of the "most highly sought after.")
“Oh, we have a good time in my classroom, you should join,” Bridges says. “You might learn a lot.”
We can only hope Hawley takes Bridges up on her offer.
