Democratic state Senator Bradford Blackmon made headlines this week after he introduced a bill which would prohibit men from masturbating or engaging in other sexual acts when they have no “intent to fertilize an embryo.”
The so-called “Contraception Begins at Erection Act” takes a candid shot at men’s role in reproductive health, proposing to make it illegal for men to engage in solitary activities or other sexual acts unless procreation is the ultimate goal.
If the legislation makes it into law, any men who “discharge genetic material” without trying to make a baby face fines of up to $1,000 for the first lip up again. The newly unveiled bill is bringing some severe heat, with penalties that escalate quickly: $1,000 for your first strike, a cool $5,000 if you slip up again, and a whopping $10,000 for any missteps after that.
Play by the rules, or be prepared to pay up—big time.
The bill does make exceptions for sperm donation and contraception use to prevent fertilization. If, and this is a big if, it somehow became law, it would take effect in July.
Blackmon released a statement to NBC’s local affiliate, WLBT, in which he insisted that this was about flipping the script.
“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.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, states led by Republican legislatures have been dialing up restrictions on abortion and contraception access. Mississippi is one of 12 states with either total or near-total abortion bans, and others are chipping away at abortion rights with gestation limits ranging from six to 12 weeks.
Blackmon is unashamedly trying to re-ignite a dialogue about the male side of the equation in reproductive health—and maybe turn the spotlight back on men in a way we don’t often see in these debates.
Will it get people talking? Absolutely. Will it pass? Not likely.
