Pay A Fine For Masturbating? Houston Lawmaker's Bill Would Make Texas Men Do Just That

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, no? Texas state Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Democrat from Houston, certainly thinks so, and hopes the bill she filed last week — House Bill 4260 — will spur conversation about the wisdom of recently passed Texas laws dealing with the sexual and reproductive rights of women in the state. One highlight of the bill? Men would be fined $100 for masturbating.

Farrar said that the features in her bill, titled "Man's Right To Know Act," were "proposed satirical regulations" and had no chance of becoming law but hoped that her action would foster dialog and discussion.

“What I would like to see is this make people stop and think,” Farrar told The Texas Tribune. “Maybe my colleagues aren’t capable of that, but the people who voted for them, or the people that didn’t vote at all, I hope that it changes their mind and helps them to decide what the priorities are.”

Farrar is a vocal opponent of laws in Texas that make women wait 24 hours between a health consultation and an abortion and the mandate women undergo transvaginal ultrasounds and listen to the fetus' heartbeat. She is also against bills currently under discussion that would require Texas hospitals to bury or cremate fetal remains and that would charge women who undergo an abortion with murder.

Women in Texas wishing to consider abortion already face considerable hardship. According to the Tribune, 95 percent of counties in Texas are without a clinic that provides abortion services. Between San Antonio and El Paso, a distance of 550 miles, there are no abortion clinics.

Explaining her bill's fine for masturbation, Farrar said that if semen is not used for procreation , “then it’s a waste … because that semen can be used — and is to be used — for creating more human life.”

"Men have to answer for their actions and so forth," she added. "So if there’s going to be an emission, it would have to be done in a hospital where the semen could be preserved for future pregnancies or it would be directly deposited into the vagina of a woman."

In addition to the fine for masturbation, HB 4260 mandates informed consent for elective vasectomies, colonoscopies and prescriptions for Viagra. In the bill, informed consent is established only when at least 24 hours have passed since a care consultation for the the desired prescription or procedure. HB 4260 also calls for a rectal exam to take place before an elective vasectomy or colonoscopy and before prescribing Viagra.

Farrar said that her bill comes at a time when women's rights are under renewed fire from state governments and growing calls for more stringent federal regulations.

"Especially with Trump as president, I think these folks are on fire now. They’re off the chain now," Farrar said. "If they can elect someone based on making racist remarks and derogatory remarks toward women and such, then we’ve just given them license to offend and license to be even worse ."

— Image courtesy Texas House of Representatives