A Mississippi lawmaker proposed the "Contraception Begins At Erection Act," that would, as the name implies, dictate that any act of 'discharging genetic material' separate from the purpose of procreation would be illegal.
And anyone caught doing so would face criminal charges.
So, what exactly would criminal charges look like? The bill includes that information, calling for "a graduated fine structure for violations, starting with a $1,000 penalty for a first offense, escalating to $5,000 for a second offense, and $10,000 for third or subsequent offenses."
If that sounds draconian, don't worry: "The bill includes two key exceptions: genetic material donated or sold to a facility for future embryo fertilization, and genetic material discharged using a contraceptive method intended to prevent fertilization."
The bill is the brainchild of Mississippi state Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat, who says the bill is meant to draw attention to the fact so many legislative acts related to procreation penalize women. He decided to turn the tables and try to bring penalties against men into the conversation.
"All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation," he wrote. "This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me."
The Blackmon bill calls for it to be enacted into law by July 1 of this year. The bill sits with the judiciary committee.
Currently, 12 states, including Mississippi have total or near-total abortion bans, while an additional six states ban abortion from six to 12 weeks of gestation.