WASHINGTON — An OB-GYN who uses “she/her” pronouns repeatedly sidestepped a question about whether men can get pregnant during a congressional hearing on abortion pills.
Dr. Nisha Verma, a Democratic witness and senior advisor to Physicians for Reproductive Health, acknowledged that she takes care of many pregnant women, but was coy about whether men can pull off that feat as well.
At first, she dodged that question from Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), before obfuscating again during follow-ups from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
“I hesitated there because I wasn’t sure where the conversation was going or what the goal was. I mean, I do take care of patients with different identities. I take care of many women,” she told Hawley, skirting around the question.
Hawley replied: “The goal is to establish a biological reality. You just said a moment ago that science and evidence should control, not politics. So let’s just text that proposition.”
“I do treat people that don’t identify as women,” Verma said after a back-and-forth. “I think yes-no questions like this are a political tool.”
She then accused Hawley of trying to oversimplify a complex topic and being “polarized” in his questioning.
“For the record, it’s women who get pregnant, not men,” the Missouri Republican eventually vented, answering his question. “I don’t know how we can take you seriously and your claims to be a person of science if you won’t level on this basic issue.”
“I thought we were past all of this.”
The viral exchange took place before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Wednesday during a hearing on the safety of the abortion pills.
That hearing took place against the backdrop of pro-life groups feuding with the Trump administration over the pills. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration approved a generic version of mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen to terminate a pregnancy.
Pro-life groups have also pushed for a more rigorous study of the safety of mifepristone, which can lead to rare complications. Pro-choice critics argue that mifepristone has been deemed safe by dozens of studies.
Almost two-thirds of abortion nationwide are done via medication — mifepristone and misoprostol, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Mifepristone has been used in the US since 2000 and also treats Cushing’s syndrome.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as FDA Commissioner Marty Makary agreed to probe the safety of mifepristone.
Hawley’s wife, Erin, has been on the forefront of the legal battle against the abortion pill in her work as a lawyer.
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