Politics

Doctor smacks down GOP Congressman who tried to troll her by asking “What’s a woman” in a hearing

Rep. Dan Bishop (l)/Dr. Yashica Robinson
Rep. Dan Bishop (l)/Dr. Yashica Robinson Photo: Screenshot

A doctor refused to let a Republican Congressman derail a House Judiciary Hearing by asking for a definition of the word “woman.”

The hearing was held to look address how the Supreme Court is probably going to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the federal right to an abortion in the U.S., and Dr. Yashica Robinson, who provides abortions in Alabama and is on the board of directors of the group Physicians for Reproductive Health, was called to testify about abortion access.

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But that didn’t stop Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) from trying to troll her and bringing up a random conservative grievance about the practice of sharing one’s pronouns to help others avoid misgendering people.

“In your written testimony, I noticed you said that you use she/her pronouns,” Rep. Bishop asked her in the hearing. “You’re a medical doctor. What’s a woman?”

“It’s important for you to understand why I said I use she/her pronouns,” Dr. Robinson responded.

Bishop tried to stop her from explaining why she shared her pronouns and again asked, “What is a woman?”

Robinson wasn’t deterred: “I think it’s important that we educate people like you about why we’re doing the things that we do.”

“So the reason I use she and her pronouns is because I understand that there are people who become pregnant that may not identify that way and I think it is discriminatory to speak to people or to call them in such a way as they desire not to be called,” she continued. “It’s important that we respect each individual person.”

Bishop cut her off again: “Can you answer my question of what’s a woman?”

“I’m a woman,” she said.

“Is that as comprehensive of a definition as you can give me?” Bishop asked.

Robinson had had enough and reminded Bishop that the hearing was about abortion, not pronouns or the definition of a woman: “That’s as comprehensive of a definition as I will give you today because I think that it’s important that we focus on what we’re here for, and it’s to talk about access to abortion.”

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