Mississippi bill limiting men’s sexual rights takes aim at laws targeting women
A bill to ban unprotected sex without the intent of procreation has been filed by a Democrat in the Mississippi Senate. The bill is called the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.“
And while the legislation has caused snarky online jokes about the Magnolia State, its author acknowledged that the intent is to get a political rise from some opponents.
Democratic state Sen. Bradford Blackmon of Canton said the bill is more of a political jab at Republicans who support banning some forms of contraception than it is a serious effort to curtail what adults do behind closed doors.
“You have male-dominated legislatures in Mississippi and all over the country that pass laws that dictate what a woman can and cannot do with her body,” Blackmon said in a written statement to the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. “When a bill has been filed that would regulate what a man is able to do with his own body in his own home, it suddenly has people in an uproar. I am trying to figure out when it isn’t okay for the government to dictate what you do in the privacy of your own home, apparently it is when the laws regulate men.”
Sen. Bradford J. Blackmon, D-Canton, laughs as Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, speaks on the first day of the 2025 legislative session at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
What does the bill say?
Blackmon’s bill, dubbed the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act,” would make it illegal for a man to ejaculate without the expressed intent of fertilizing an embryo if he or the person he was having sex with were not using contraception. However, if one were using a form of contraception, such as a condom or birth control, that would be OK.
“It shall be unlawful for a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo,” the bill states.
It also proposes fining people who have unprotected sex $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second and $10,000 for every offense after that. Donations to sperm banks would also be exempt.
Contraception in the United States
Two landmark Supreme Court decisions in 1965 and 1972 protect the right to contraception for people in the United States. However several states across the country have begun to try to limit access to contraceptives.
According to an analysis by the Guttmacher Institute in June 2024, eight states had enacted or proposed laws to limit access to contraception. A bill in Oklahoma, for example, sought to ban intrauterine devices (IUDs) and emergency contraception.
Another law passed in Indiana limited the options and types of contraceptives to people on Medicare.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at [email protected] or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Would Mississippi bill ban unprotected sex? What to know.
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