A professor accused Sen. Josh Hawley of being ‘transphobic’ while asking for clarification on a comment made.
This week a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing met regarding the impact of the end of Roe v. Wade. University of California at Berkley law professor Khiara Bridges was speaking when she kept referring to expecting mothers as “people with the capacity for pregnancy.”
Things quickly turned into a war of the woke when Sen. Josh Hawley asked for clarification on what Bridges meant by describing someone pregnant.
Hawley: “You used a phrased I want to make sure I understand what you mean by it. You’ve referred to ‘people with a capacity for pregnancy.’ Would that be women?”
Bridges said that it’s not just cis women who could get pregnant, but also trans men as well as non-binary people.
The senator then questioned how abortion is a women’s rights issue if she felt not just women could get pregnant. Bridges went back to her original point, but this time accused Hawley of being transphobic.
Bridges: “I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic, and it opens up trans people to violence by not recognizing them.”
Hawley: “Wow, you’re saying that I’m opening up people to violence by asking whether or not women are the only folks who can have pregnancies?”
Bridges: “I want to note that one out of five transgender persons have attempted suicide.”
Hawley: “-because of my line of questioning? So we can’t talk about it?”
Bridges defended her statement by stating that if Sen. Hawley denies the existence of trans people, he is triggering violence. He then asks the professor if this is how she educates her students.
Hawley: “…Is this how you run your classroom? Are students allowed to question you or are they also treated like this, telling them they are opening people to violence by questioning?”
Bridges said her students do ask questions and they have “a good time.” She proceeded to sarcastically invite Hawley to her classroom.
“You should join. You might learn a lot.”
To which Hawley replied,
“Wow. I would learn a lot. I’ve learned a lot during this exchange…”
