"Can Men Get Pregnant?" Indian-American Doctor Asked During Abortion Hearing

An Indian-American obstetrics-gynaecology (OB-GYN) and reproductive health adviser refused to give a direct and clear answer on Wednesday when asked whether men could get pregnant. The tense discussion between Senator Josh Hawley and Dr Nisha Verma occurred during the HELP Committee hearing titled "Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs," at the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee, Dr Verma said abortion medication has been widely studied and safely used for decades, warning that restrictions driven by politics are causing harm.

"Medication abortion has been rigorously studied and proven safe and effective in over 100 high-quality peer-reviewed studies," she told lawmakers, noting that more than 7.5 million people in the United States have used the drugs since their approval in 2000.

Hawley pressed Dr Verma, a senior adviser to Physicians for Reproductive Health, with the question, "Can men get pregnant?"

Sen. Hawley: “Can men get pregnant?”

Dr. Nisha Verma: “I'm not really sure what the goal of the question is.”

Sen. Hawley: “The goal is just to establish a biological reality...Can men get pregnant?”

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Verma, appearing as a Democratic witness, hesitated, saying she cared for patients with a variety of gender identities. "I do take care of people that don't identify as women," she said, avoiding a simple yes or no.

Hawley insisted on a direct response, stating, "The goal is to establish a biological reality. This is about science and evidence. I'm asking you. This is not a hypothetical question."

She said, "Science and evidence should guide medicine. But I also think yes or no questions like this are political tools." When Hawley interrupted, arguing that the question is about truth and biological reality, Verma responded, "I'm trying to reduce the complexity of the question."

"You are called by the other sites as an expert, and you are a doctor and you follow the science and evidence. Just want to know based on the evidence. Can men get pregnant? That's a yes or no question," Hawley said.

He added, "I'm not. I'm trying to get to an answer. I'm trying to test, frankly, your veracity as a medical professional and scientist, can men get pregnant?"

She said, "I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you that is not coming from the place of trying to be polarised."

The senator countered, "It is extraordinary that we are in a hearing about science and about women. For the record, it's the women who get pregnant and not men."

He later added, "You don't even acknowledge the basic reality that biological men don't get pregnant. There is a difference between biological men and biological women. I don't know how we can take you seriously and your claims to be a person of science."

"We are here about the safety of women. Science that shows abortion drug causes adverse health events in 11 percent of cases. That is 22 times greater than the FDA label," Hawley added.

Verma defended her approach, saying, "I'm a person of science, and I'm also here to represent the complex experiences of my patients. I don't think polarised language or questions sort that goal.”

He then lashed out at her, saying, "You don't even acknowledge the basic reality that biological men don't get pregnant. There is a difference between biological men and biological women. I don't know how we can take you seriously, and you claim to be a person of science."

She said, "I'm a person of science, and I'm also here someone who's here to represent the complex experiences of my patients and I don't think polarised language or questions sort that goal." 

Hawley responded, "It is not polarising to say that women are a biological reality and should be treated and protected as such; that is not polarising. That is truth...Your refusal to recognise men as men and women as women is deeply corrosive to science, public trust, and constitutional protection for women as women."