GOP senator ridiculed for comparing pregnant women to sea turtles

Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, a long-time opponent of abortion rights, has been hoping to see the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade — and it appears that he is going to get his wish. The Republican senator and hardcore social conservative reiterated his anti-abortion views during a May 10 speech on the Senate floor, arguing that if the eggs of sea turtles enjoy legal protection, there is no reason why abortion should be legal. And he is being brutally mocked on social media for his ridiculous analogy.
Daines on Abortion: Why do we have laws in place to protect the eggs of a sea turtle or the eggs of eagles\u2026pic.twitter.com/yr0dM7aaAs— Acyn (@Acyn) 1652215748
The 59-year-old Daines, during his speech, told his colleagues, “If you were to take or destroy the eggs of a sea turtle — now I said, the eggs…. The criminal penalties are severe: up to a $100,000 fine and a year in prison. Now, why do we have laws in place to protect the eggs of a sea turtle, or the eggs of eagles? Because, when you destroy an egg, you’re killing a pre-born baby sea turtle or a pre-born baby eagle. Yet when it comes to a pre-born human baby rather than a sea turtle, that baby will be stripped of all protections in all 50 states…. Is that the America the left wants?”
It didn’t take Twitter users long to point out how idiotic and horribly flawed Daines’ comparison was:
What the fuck is this embarrassing nonsense. Does he not realize women also pay taxes— Brooke Binkowski (@Brooke Binkowski) 1652219842
IF WE COULD LAY EGGS OUTSIDE OUR BODY, WE WOULDN\u2019T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION YOU PIECE OF SHIThttps://twitter.com/acyn/status/1524129432213987328\u00a0\u2026— Kate Harding (@Kate Harding) 1652218116
1. Eggs are laid separately from the mother bird/reptile\n2. Women are not birds/reptiles\n3. Human embryos aren't endangered species— Dr. Ohm \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Dr. Ohm \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1652218026
I have to admit, of all the ways to justify forcing pregnant people to keep a medically and financially detrimental pregnancy, I never had "because we protect fish eggs" on the bingo card.https://twitter.com/TrashTakes270/status/1523076778822037504\u00a0\u2026— Ives the Mad (@Ives the Mad) 1651967276
So now women are being compared to endangered animals??? If that doesn't sound like they want a BREEDIN PROGRAM instead of just caring about babies I don't what else to say.— AlleyCatRanch (@AlleyCatRanch) 1652217060
Human reproduction is very different than most animals. Most animals become adults within a couple of years and can take care of themselves. Human children require a second \u201cwomb\u201d after birth and do not develop so they can take care of themselves until at least 13 (by law 18) 1/2— TheThinker (@TheThinker) 1652219668
It would be great if a fertilized egg could completely develop OUTSIDE of the women\u2019s body, like a turtle\u2019s egg. But it doesn\u2019t, in many cases it is a traumatic experience to your body. Even mortal to many. THAT is the whole point, privacy to govern YOUR body, not an external egg— analu85 (@analu85) 1652228250
MSNBC's Katie Phang mocked Daines with dry humor:
You know he practiced that dozens of times before his mirror at home, and each and every time, he thought it was amazing.— Katie S. Phang (@Katie S. Phang) 1652219004
Here are some more reactions to Daines’ speech:
We don't FORCE animals to give birth or punish them if they destroy their own eggs. We leave animals to do what they do & the protective laws are there so that their lives are NOT interfered with. In theory, anyway, since obviously we interfere massively & destroy their habitat.— Jerry Bland (@Jerry Bland) 1652221473
The human race is not endangered, only white Americans are and they know it.\n\nThat's what this is all about.— Mike Frog (@Mike Frog) 1652222590
How is this person in the US Senate?— Dana Schenk (@Dana Schenk) 1652233494
Please tell me this is an SNL skit.— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1652218172
@SteveDaines since humans aren\u2019t endangered, but have exploded in population, are you proposing a \u201chunting season\u201d to reduce the human population to \u201cmanageable numbers\u201d the way humans do when wildlife populations explode? Is that where your ridiculous analogy is going?— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 American Promise \ud83d\udc99 (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 American Promise \ud83d\udc99) 1652218882
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