In a cringe-worthy ?TMI moment Rep. Michael Burgess admitted to watching male fetus masturbation during sonograms he performed during his work as an OB-GYN. He ?announced this to support HR 1797, a doomed bill that would make abortions after 20 weeks illegal.
Rep. Michael Burgess’s own words from Salon.com:
?Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,? he continued. ?They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe that they could feel pain??
Take a deep breath here…..O.K.
We all know a sonogram of a 15 week old fetus is about as clear to see as a public broadcast channel on a 15 inch television with a clothes hanger for an antenna. ?Sure he could see the hands between the legs but I doubt much else. Did Michael Burgess really witness fetus masturbation?
So, is it not ?interesting that he Rep. Burgess assumed that fetus masturbation was going on , maybe it was scratching and itch or tapping his hand to his mothers heartbeat on its thigh. What does this assumption say about him?
It says Rep. Burgess has no concrete evidence that a ?fetus can feel anything at 15 weeks gestation — much less enjoy fetus masturbation — and ?he has no scientific proof to support his anti-abortion platform.
As a matter of fact, one medical expert disagrees.?Dr. Lisa Perriera of Cleveland’s University Hospitals Case Medical Center maintains that a fetus putting his hands between his legs is not fetus masturbation but rather noting more than ?practicing using their muscles.?
?Three studies have been done in human fetuses to examine the development of connections between nerves,? Perriera said. ?And we don’t think those connections start to form until somewhere between 23 and 30 weeks gestation.? (ABC)
She further wonders why female fetuses’ hands appear to be less inclined to wander. No female fetus masturbation?
?It’s all boiling down to males again,? she said, ?while this legislation is targeting women and limiting women’s rights.??(ABC)
According to govtrack.us, H.R. 1797 passed on June 18th with 53% of the vote. ?President Obama has threatened to veto the bill in a statement released on June 18th. ?The statement can be read on the White House website.
Rep. Burgess, with his claim that he has observed fetus masturbation, has now transformed himself into the “creepy Uncle” of Republicans.?Now that’s a campaign slogan that gets noticed.
