#1 Michigan State Rep. Lisa Brown silenced after ‘vagina’
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:23 pm
New York Dailynews
God, this reeks of petty grade school level shit. The members of the Michigan GOP should be ashamed of themselves.A lawmaker was barred from speaking on the floor of the Michigan state legislature for saying “vagina” during a heated debate over abortions.
House Republicans blocked Democratic Rep. Lisa Brown for her remark during a speech blasting the controversial bill that would restrict abortions after 20 weeks, according to The Detroit News.
"Finally, Mr. Speaker, I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but 'no' means 'no,'" Brown said at the end of her speech Wednesday.
A spokesman for Michigan Speaker James Bolger said in a statement that Brown would not be allowed to give her opinion on a school employee retirement bill Thursday because she had "failed to maintain the decorum of the House of Representatives."
Republican Rep. Mike Callton added that Brown’s remark went over the line.
"What she said was offensive," Callton told The Detroit News. "It was so offensive, I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."
Brown defended her right to say "vagina" at a press conference Thursday, arguing that it's the "anatomically, medically correct term.
"If I can't say the word vagina, why are we legislating vaginas?" Brown asked. "What language should I use?"
In her remarks Wednesday, Brown argued that the abortion regulation bill would violate her Jewish faith, which permits therapeutic abortions when the mother’s life is at risk.
"I have not asked you to adopt and to adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours?" Brown asked.
The anti-abortion law passed on a 70-39 vote.
Democratic Rep. Barb Byrum was also blocked from addressing the Republican-controlled legislature Thursday.
The House forbid Byrum from introducing her amendment to the abortion bill, which would have banned men from getting a vasectomy unless they could provide proof that it was a medical emergency.
"If we truly want to make sure children are born, we would regulate vasectomies," Byrum said Thursday.
Brown and Byrum were both silenced from speaking on the legislature’s final day of session before its summer break.
Brown has represented West Bloomfield for two terms. Byrum is also in her second term, representing Onondaga.