Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, quietly removed the words “woman” and “female” from a bill about insurance enrollment periods for pregnant women.
In 2015, an Ohio Democrat introduced the first version of the Healthy Motherhood and Obstetric Care Act, which included the word “woman” 22 times, the word “motherhood” 19 times, and the word “woman” twice.
Before reintroducing the bill last year, he removed references to women. The 2023 version does not use the words “woman” or “female” at all, and references to “maternity” have been reduced to just four.
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Rep. Sherrod Brown removed the word “women” from a bill about the registration period for pregnant women. (Getty Images)
The measure itself seeks to amend the Public Health Service Act to create a special health insurance enrollment period for pregnant women by making it mandatory by law.
The bill has been introduced multiple times, in 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023, and once contained a section called “Findings and Objectives.” In that section, the word “women” was mentioned 19 times in 2015 and 20 times in 2019.
According to the section, “Pregnancy is a major life event for millions of women in the United States each year.”
Brown even cited “discrimination on the basis of sex,” arguing that federal law states that “treating pregnancy differently from other conditions” qualifies as such.
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Brown declined to say whether he believes other people can become pregnant. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
This lengthy section was then inexplicably removed from both the 2021 and 2023 versions of the bill. Subsequent versions of the bill rely solely on the words “pregnant person” or “pregnant individual” rather than “woman.”
Brown’s office and campaign did not respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital as to why references to women were removed, even though the bill focuses on pregnancy.
Brown’s campaign and office also did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether she believes people other than women can become pregnant or whether she could cite examples of men giving birth to children.
The senator did not comment to Fox News Digital by publication time.
Brown’s bill previously featured the word “women” 22 times. (iStock)
Bernie Moreno, a Republican Senate candidate backed by former President Trump, is running to unseat Brown in November. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Moreno spokesperson Reagan McCarthy said, “By removing women from a bill centered on pregnant women’s health care, Sherrod Brown is voicing a quiet part of himself that he does not believe only women can become pregnant and wants to erase the unique biological ability of women.”
“Brown is not just a far-left extremist, he’s a genuine nutjob.”
Brown is seeking reelection in Ohio, a Republican-leaning state that voted for Trump in the past two presidential elections. His campaign is an independent political handicapper. Cook Political ReportThe election will run alongside Senate elections in Montana and Michigan.
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The vulnerable senator from Ohio removed the word “women” from the bill amid an ongoing national debate about gender identity, with specific disputes over language, women’s sports and what is appropriate in schools. The decision to drop references to women is in line with Democrats’ trend to include transgender people, who are biologically male or female but say they identify differently, in discussions about policy.
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Although only biologically females can become pregnant, women may claim to be transgender and identify as male.
Republicans have sought to point out Democratic vagueness on issues that are essentially gender-related. GOP politicians and commentators have frequently questioned Democrats’ definition of a woman, frequently exposing the other side’s unwillingness to be precise about the term.
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