Ted Cruz Is Willing To Fight For Cis Men’s Reproductive Rights — But That’s It

Ted Cruz is hopping on the reproductive rights train — but it’s not going to a dream destination. The Republican senator’s sudden surge to fight for reproductive rights has nothing to do with actual bodily autonomy for all people, but instead for a select few: cisgender men

In a tweet on Sunday, Cruz criticized a recent legislation out of Alabama that would threaten the reproductive rights of men. The legislation, formally called HB 238, proposes mandatory vasectomy procedures for men over 50-years-old living in the state and was filed in the state legislature by Rolanda Hollis last Thursday. After learning about the bill, Cruz tweeted, "Yikes. A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything...literally! Alabama Democrat proposes bill mandating all men have vasectomy at age 50 or after third child.”

If the bill passes, it would require that all men over 50 undergo a vasectomy within one month after their 50th birthday or immediately following the birth of their third biological child. 

This same state is already facing backlash for regulations on reproductive rights for women. Alabama already banned abortions at any stage of pregnancy, no matter how early, and with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Now, this latest reproductive rights legislation was proposed as a response to the law passed banning abortions in the state, and Cruz is actually in opposition of it.

Cruz never fought the ongoing attacks on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights for people who can get pregnant in Alabama, nor has he criticized any other legislation stripping people of reproductive rights. Why is that? Cruz’s opposition to reproductive rights has long been a part of his platforms and policies. 

Ted Cruz is infamous for being an anti-abortion politician and has constantly lobbied against reproductive rights. The Republican senator has taken many anti-abortion and anti-reproductive rights positions, including supporting bills that ban abortion and being outspoken about being anti-choice and the "dangers" of Planned Parenthood. In fact, Cruz has been one of the leaders in trying to condemn the Democratic party for attempting to protect access to abortion. He’s called abortion access laws a “real war on women.” 

In response to his tweet, people online dished the same heat back to him, calling him a hypocrite for favoring one form of bodily autonomy over another — and only for cisgender men. Some people asked him why he suddenly doesn’t like the government trying to control a person’s body when he’s never seemed to have an issue with it before, while others offered up some snarky perfection about autonomy and choice. Cruz surely thought he was being clever and tweeting a more popular opinion, but according to his mentions, the senator’s hypocrisy has him cruzin’ for a bruisin’.