Lawmaker reveals drastic surgery prompted by fear of 'Trump's America'
The fear of President Donald Trumpâ??s unchecked executive powers over the next four years drove a Michigan lawmaker to take matters into her own hands and undergo a surgical procedure to become voluntarily sterile, according to media reports.Michigan Democratic State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky revealed her...
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd as sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. look on near the exit, during a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The fear of President Donald Trump’s unchecked executive powers over the next four years drove a Michigan lawmaker to take matters into her own hands and undergo a surgical procedure to become voluntarily sterile, according to media reports.
Michigan Democratic State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky revealed her drastic decision publicly Wednesday as she joined hundreds of protestors at the state Capitol – one of dozens of demonstrations held nationwide in opposition to Trump’s second administration.
“Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America,” Pohutsky said. “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate.”
Pohutsky, 36, said in media interviews since disclosing her decision that she’s received numerous threats, according to Michigan Live.
She stands by her decision.
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“Having a private medical decision and talking about it publicly, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” she told MLive in an interview. “There is a lot of value to people talking about the reality of the decisions that they are making right now and breaking down the stigma around them.”
Pohutsky added that she and her husband had discussed voluntary sterilization – which the publication notes is “a permanent form of birth control that involves surgically closing off or removing certain reproductive organs" – and while they delayed their January appointment, the dizzying deluge of Trump’s executive orders spurred them to move forward.
“I worried about things like insurance coverage,” she said to MLive. “I worried about hospitals just not providing it.”
While some criticism has been lobbed at her by Republican officials in her state, Pohutsky has also heard from many women who had felt a “weird amount of shame” about their own sterilization journeys.
“I don’t understand the level of vitriol about it,” she said about GOP criticisms. “I don’t understand how it impacts anybody else.”