Sen. Hawley responds to viral moment with Berkeley professor regarding term 'woman'
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., joins 'Hannity' following exchange about 'people with a capacity for pregnancy' during abortion hearing.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Josh Hawley reacted Tuesday to a now-viral exchange between him and a liberal University of California-Berkeley professor whom he questioned for her repeated use of the identifier "people with a capacity for pregnancy" – during a hearing discussing responses to the Supreme Court's returning of abortion regulation to state governments.
During the hearing, Hawley asked Prof. Khiara Bridges if she meant to refer to "women" when she repeatedly used the turn of phrase.
"There are also trans-men who have the capacity for pregnancy," Bridges countered, adding "cis-women" and "non-binary people" do get pregnant from sexual intercourse.
She later responded to Hawley by declaring his "line of questioning… transphobic and opens up trans-people to violence" – to which the senator responded with incredulity that such discourse could lead to violence.
PENNSYLVANIA GOV. WOLF VETOES TRANSGENDER SPORTS BILL
University of California Berkeley Law Prof. Khiara Bridges said in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday that abortion bans will harm "people with the capacity for pregnancy." (Senate Judiciary Committee)
Hawley later told Fox News he was shocked to see Democrats and liberal commentators celebrating Bridges on social media, calling the prospect "crazy."
"Here is the modern Democrat Party today. It [deems] that you have to say that ‘men can get pregnant’. And if you don't say it, then you are a bigot and you are responsible for violence," he said.
"That is the party line. Let's not forget who invited this witness. She was there as a Democrat witness. You didn't see a single Democrat disagree with that. In fact, they're all over social media applauding her and saying, oh, that's exactly right."
HAWLEY DEBATES BERKELEY LAW PROFESSOR OVER PREGNANT MEN
Hawley (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"It's not exactly right – it is exactly crazy -- which is why voters are running screaming away from the Democrat Party. This is craziness."
Hawley said the new Democratic belief that humans other than females can be impregnated is akin to a religious truth, drawing a connection between the claims and the party's general support for biological males who are transgender to compete in women's sports.
For parents who wonder why Democrats want to "eliminate girls sports," Hawley said the exchange helps illustrate that, along with the idea biologically a "woman" does not exist.
"They think that if a biological man wants to claim to be a woman, hey, that's fine. And we all have to accept it, or else we're bigoted and violent. It's just crazy."
Over the weekend, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf became the latest Democrat to show support for transgender individuals competing with women, vetoing a bill delineating men's and women's interscholastic sports.
In that case, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro declared a 2021 iteration of the bill "cruel" and "designed to discriminate" while Republican nominee Doug Mastriano pledged to sign such legislation if elected.
Hawley's viral exchange also comes months after incoming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson sparred with Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee – after the Republican asked the liberal jurist point-blank what her definition of a "woman" is.
Brown-Jackson replied by declaring she is "not a biologist" and therefore could not speak empirically on the topic.