Mississippi state Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat, introduced a bill that would seemingly ban men from masturbating or other sexual acts that are not performed for “the intent to fertilize an embryo.”
The bill, titled the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act” would make it unlawful for “a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.”
The bill criminalizes these sexual acts by imposing fines: $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second offense and $10,000 for any subsequent offenses.
Blackmon’s bill includes exceptions for sperm donation and sexual acts with the use of contraception. The fourth clause of the bill states that the fines “shall not apply to the discharge of genetic material (a) donated or sold to a facility for the purpose of future procedures to fertilize an embryo; and (b) discharged with the use of a contraceptive or contraceptive method intend to prevent fertilization of an embryo.”
If passed and signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, the bill would go into effect in July.
It’s unlikely the bill will pass given that Republicans are the majority of the Mississippi state legislature.
Blackmon, a first-term senator who represents a district north of Jackson, Mississippi, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
In a statement to local news station WLBT News, Blackmon referenced the high number of state legislative bills introduced in recent years that target women’s access to reproductive healthcare, specifically abortion and contraception.
“All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation. This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me,” Blackmon wrote.
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the federal right to abortion, state legislatures in Republican-led states have increasingly sought to restrict abortion access and access to contraception.
Currently, 12 states, including Mississippi have total or near-total abortion bans, while an additional six states ban abortion between six or 12 weeks of gestation, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
By mid-2024, eight states had enacted or proposed restrictions on women’s access to contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion access think tank.
