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Lawmaker calls for vasectomies

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama lawmaker fed up with her colleagues’ attempts to outlaw abortion has filed legislation to require all men over 50 to get vasectomies.

Democratic Rep. Rolanda Hollis said Friday that she introduced the bill to send “the message that men should not be legislating what women do with their bodies.”

Alabama lawmakers last year approved a ban on abortion unless the woman’s life was in danger. A federal judge blocked the law from taking effect while a legal challenge plays out in court.

Hollis said that doctors, and not legislators, are the ones to be consulted over surgery, medications and making the “incredibly difficult decisions” related to personal reproductive rights.

Hollis’ bill suggests the state require a man to get a vasectomy within one month of turning 50 or after the birth of his third child. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that forced sterilization is unconstitutional.

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