A Michigan state legislator became “voluntarily sterile” to avoid navigating a pregnancy under President Donald Trump’s second term, she revealed.
Democratic state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky told a crowd in Lansing on Wednesday: “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America,” Pohutsky said. “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate.”
“If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization because she was uncertain she would be able to access contraception in the future,” she added, according to the Michigan Advance.
Pohutsy made the announcement on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol as part of the 50501 Movement, which aimed to hold 50 protests in 50 states in one day. Hundreds gathered in protest at the right-wing blueprint Project 2025 and a second Trump presidency.
Trump has promised to leave the issue of abortion up to the states. In 2022, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, stripping the constitutional right to abortion and complicating the reproductive health landscape across the country. Trump has bragged about “killing Roe” after he put three justices on the bench who opted to overturn it.
In his first week in office, Trump signed orders that prohibited federal funds from being used to pay for abortions and barred U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding foreign organizations that provide abortions.
Pohutsky is far from the only one undergoing sterilization. The overturning of Roe has led to more threats against abortion and contraception, leading more young men and women to seek a more permanent form of birth control. Research shows that vasectomies and tubal ligations sharply increased in young people after Roe was overturned. Studies also underscore that sterilization rates are highest in states with abortion bans - 12 states make the procedure illegal in all cases.
After she spoke at the demonstration, several on the right criticized her personal healthcare decision.
“So many broken people,” conservative commentator Ben Shapiro wrote on X, replying to a quote by Pohutsky.
Michigan State Rep. Brad Paquette, her GOP colleague, also took to X: “She very well knows that President Trump can not take away her ability to abort her unborn baby here in Michigan.”
In response to the negative remarks, Pohutsky wrote on X: “The fact that so many conservative men take personal offense to a decision that I made with my husband about my health care and future just proves the point that we shouldn’t assume that right is secure.”
