Masturbating Men May Face Fines In Texas Under Proposed Law

One Texas lawmaker wants to fine men for masturbating, put a mandatory waiting period on Viagra purchases, and require a medically unnecessary rectal exam before a vasectomy.

The satirical bill, dubbed the “Man’s Right To Know,” was proposed by Texas state Rep. Jessica Farrar as a way to highlight anti-abortion laws created by men for women, according to My San Antonio.

“A lot of people find the bill funny. What’s not funny are the obstacles that Texas women face every day, that were placed there by legislatures making it very difficult for them to access healthcare.”

The bill, HB 4260, encourages Texas men to be fully abstinent and places a $100 fine on masturbatory “emissions outside of a woman’s vagina, or created outside of a health or medical facility,” which “will be considered an act against an unborn child, and failing to preserve the sanctity of life.”

It parodies a Texas law that passed earlier this year prohibiting “wrongful birth” lawsuits in which parents can sue doctors who don’t inform them of a fetus’s disability or their abortion options. These lawsuits were very uncommon in Texas even before the bill was passed.

Farrar’s proposed law would create a private registry of organizations that counsel Texas men to remain fully abstinent and allow state doctors to supervise men’s masturbation so their semen can be stored for future conception efforts.

The anti-masturbation bill would also mandate a 24-hour waiting period for men’s vasectomies and Viagra prescriptions, similar to the waiting period required for abortions in Texas.

It also requires a “medically-unnecessary digital rectal exam and magnetic resonance [imaging] of the rectum” before doctors can issue a Viagra prescription or perform any elective vasectomy or colonoscopy. The language mirrors an existing Texas law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound even if it’s not considered necessary by a doctor.

Farrar said she introduced the anti-masturbation bill because she was tired of Texas men trying to regulate women’s health care and abortion options, according to the Texas Tribune.

“Men have to answer for their actions and so forth. So if there’s going to be an emission, it would have to be done in a hospital where the semen could be preserved for future pregnancies or it would be directly deposited into the vagina of a woman.”

The anti-masturbation bill may never become law, but Farrar hopes it might spark a discussion over what Texas lawmakers should be discussing this session, according to ABC News.

“If the state’s going to step into the arena of women’s healthcare, let’s look to the best practices of the doctors, not bad science, not political agendas and not votes in a Republican primary.”

The state of Texas has passed a number of anti-abortion laws since 2010 including a 2011 bill that forces women to have a sonogram and listen to the heartbeat of a fetus before having an abortion.

Texas lawmakers are set to consider a number of anti-abortion bills this session including a proposed law that would make abortions a felony, ban abortions after 20 weeks, and limit the type of abortions available in the state. Also under consideration are bills to improve the rights of fetuses and embryos, and require hospitals to bury or cremate fetal remains.

Texas Rep. Tony Tinderholt, who authored a bill that would make both women who have abortions and their doctors liable for murder, said Farrar’s anti-masturbation bill shows she doesn’t understand human biology, according to the Texas Tribune.

“I’m embarrassed for Representative Farrar. I would recommend that she consider taking a high school biology class from a local public or charter school before filing another bill on the matter.”

What do you think about Farrar’s anti-masturbation bill?

[Featured Image by Harry Cabluck/AP Images]