Lawmaker Pushing Anti-Abortion Bill Claims Babies Are Organs

Posted on Feb 18, 2013

AP/Jamie Martin

Alabama state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin believes a baby is an organ.

The GOP isn’t known for being the party of science—far from it, in fact—so when one of its own reaches a new low in scientific stupidity, it’s worth noting. (See: Todd Akin’s legitimate rape comment.)

The latest example comes to us courtesy of Alabama state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, who seems to have either flunked—or flat out rejected—basic third grade anatomy. McClurkin is sponsoring a bill that would impose a variety of tedious restrictions on abortion clinics in an effort to shut them down in her state. In promoting her legislation, the Republican lawmaker told the Montgomery Advertiser that she is just trying to prevent doctors from removing “the largest organ in a body.” To further clarify: She was talking about a baby, which is obviously not an organ.

“When a physician removes a child from a woman, that is the largest organ in a body,” McClurkin said. “That’s a big thing. That’s a big surgery. You don’t have any other organs in your body that are bigger than that.”

That’s right, evidently in the warped anti-science world and fantasy land that McClurkin exists in, babies are organs. Just like your heart, your liver, your skin and your brain. It is unclear, by the way, whether McClurkin was using that last one when she made the breathtakingly ignorant remark.

Jezebel:

Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, who opposes the legislation because she is a smart lady, said she expects the bill, which is a mixture of old and new restrictions, to pass.

“They’re drafting a bill on a subject they have no knowledge of,” she said. “They’ve never been in a clinic. They don’t know what the regulations are.” (They also need to hop on the Magic School Bus for a refresher in how the human body operates!)

Passage doesn’t mean success, but it does mean lawsuits; that’s what’s happening in Mississippi right now. “I don’t think the state of Alabama should waste funds passing a law that will enjoined in court,” said Nikema Williams, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast. “Women would not stop seeking abortions,” she added. “We would lack legitimate regulated abortion centers to provide health care to women.”

McClurkin’s pancreas did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more

—Posted by Tracy Bloom.

More Below the Ad

New and Improved Comments

If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.