Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, has sparked controversy by removing all references to ‘women’ from a bill focused on health insurance enrollment periods for pregnant women. The bill, titled the Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act, has been introduced multiple times since 2015, with its initial versions featuring the word ‘women’ 22 times, ‘maternity’ 19 times, and ‘woman’ twice. However, the 2023 version of the bill, reintroduced by Brown, completely eliminates any mention of ‘women’ or ‘woman,’ reducing references to ‘maternity’ to just four.
The bill seeks to establish a special health insurance enrollment period for pregnant women by amending the Public Health Service Act. In earlier iterations, the bill included a section titled ‘Findings and Purpose,’ which explicitly referenced ‘women’ and stated that pregnancy is a significant life event for millions of women in the United States each year. Brown even acknowledged ‘sex-based discrimination’ by claiming that federal law recognizes treating pregnancy differently from other conditions as discriminatory. However, this entire section was removed from both the 2021 and 2023 versions of the bill.
The recent versions now exclusively use the terms ‘pregnant person’ and ‘pregnant individual’ to describe the intended beneficiaries of the bill, raising questions about Brown’s understanding of pregnancy and the role of women in the process. When contacted by Fox News Digital, neither Brown’s office nor his campaign responded to inquiries about the removal of ‘women’ from the bill or whether they believe anyone other than women can become pregnant.
This decision has drawn criticism from Republicans, including Bernie Moreno, Brown’s Republican challenger in the upcoming Senate election. Moreno’s spokesperson, Reagan McCarthy, stated that Brown’s actions demonstrate a disregard for the unique experiences and abilities of biological women. McCarthy also accused Brown of being a ‘far-left extremist’ and a ‘bonafide weirdo.’
Brown’s controversial move comes amid a national debate on gender identity, with disagreements on language, women’s sports, and appropriate content in schools. The decision to omit women from the bill reflects a growing trend among some Democrats to prioritize transgender individuals in policy discussions. While only biological women can become pregnant, some transgender women may identify as men.
Republicans have repeatedly pointed out this ambiguity among Democrats on inherently gendered topics, challenging them to define the term ‘woman.’ These events highlight the ongoing cultural and political battles surrounding gender identity, with the focus on biological women and their unique experiences becoming increasingly contentious.
