The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held a hearing about access to reproductive services. It was a significant hearing in light of the recent leak of a draft opinion out of the Supreme Court that indicated that the Court was preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade. Below is how the hearing went. Rep. Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, was questioning Dr. Yashica Robinson, who is a board member of Physicians For Reproductive Health.

Johnson: Do you support the right of a woman who is just seconds away from birthing a healthy child to have an abortion?
Robinson: I think that the question you're asking does not realistically reflect abortion care —
Johnson: In that scenario, would you support her right to abort that child?
Robinson: I won’t entertain theoretical —
Johnson: It's not a theoretical, ma'am. You are a medical doctor.
Robinson: I am a medical doctor, that has never happened —
Johnson: Never happened in your practice, ma'am. But it happens. How about if a child is halfway out of the birth canal? Is an abortion permissible then?
Robinson: I can't even fathom that ever happening.
Johnson: I’m not asking if you can fathom that. If it occurred, would you support that abortion or not? That is unrestricted abortion, right?
[Ed Note: If, by now, you have concluded that Rep. Johnson is a disrespectful POS who seems uncomfortable with allowing complete answers to his absurd questions, you are not alone. We continue.]
Robinson: I can't imagine, just like you probably can't imagine what you would do if your daughter was raped. If it hasn't happened, it may be difficult —
Johnson: You're not going to answer the question. How about this one. How does one qualify is human? What makes a human being?

I have a new answer to that one. A human is anyone who doesn’t get elected to Congress as a Republican from Louisiana, as Johnson’s next question makes quite clear.

Johnson: A newborn child—a newborn child lacks immediate capacity to make conscious deliver choices. Is infanticide ok?
Robinson: I think what we are here to talk about is abortion care. What you are describing is something that is already illegal and there are laws in the books for that so I am not a proponent —
Johnson: If Dobbs was handed down, the states will be able to make that decision and there are some that will go that far. You need to be aware of what we are talking about today.

I have to say that it’s mighty white of a Louisiana lawyer who’s spent his entire career fronting for various wingnut welfare outfits to make sure that a doctor of medicine is aware of what they were talking about on Wednesday, even if he had to interrupt every answer she gave to do so. These really are the mole people.

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Charles P. Pierce

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.