NASHVILLE -- Sen. Todd Gardenhire is making yet another public splash, this time over suggesting during an abortion debate that his own vasectomy was tougher than requirements in a bill aiming to regulate abortion.
"I want to tell you that men go through a lot more stringent process to have a vasectomy, I would assume, than on an abortion," Gardenhire said Tuesday during the Senate Judiciary Committee debate.
The senator made national news last week after a video appeared on YouTube showing him calling an East Ridge protester an "a----" after the man challenged Gardenhire's vote against a Medicaid expansion bill.
Tuesday's vasectomy-versus-abortion matchup was triggered by Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, who opposed a mandatory waiting period and informed-consent provisions in the bill.
"What I don't understand is the discrimination," Kyle said. "You're putting all this burden on the woman. Why don't we put these same standards on the man who wants the vasectomy?"
"I'm just asking that what's good for the goose could be good for the gander," Kyle told an attorney for Tennessee Right to Life.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, said she didn't think the issues were comparable.
Gardenhire then sought recognition.
"I wanted to kind of walk Sen. Kyle through what a vasectomy is and what you have to go through to have one, having personal experience in that field," Gardenhire said. "I also had one reversed. I want to promise you that when you start talking to a doctor about them whacking on you down there you want to wait a while and think about it.
"They call you in the office," Gardenhire continued. "They meet with your spouse. They tell you the consequences. They tell you how it's almost impossible to have it reversed and that you better go home and you better think about that -- and then you come back and then they schedule a procedure, [at] a medically qualified office, and it takes anywhere from four to six weeks to schedule."
Getting it reversed is even more difficult "time-wise and everything else," the senator said.
As Kyle began to respond, Judiciary Committee Chairman Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, interjected, "Let's just make sure that we keep this focused on the topic on the legislation at hand."
The bill easily passed the House Health Committee on a voice vote Wednesday, though minority Democrats forced a lengthy debate to lay groundwork for a potential legal challenge.
Among those voting no was Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, a retired registered nurse and health care administrator.
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire is pictured in this file photo.Asked later what she thought of Gardenhire's remarks, Favors said, "I just read it," and erupted in laughter.
"I just read that. Oooh, he is so unpredictable. But you have to laugh, and I like him. We don't vote on anything together, but I like him."
Comparing a vasectomy to an abortion is "not a good analogy," Favors said, noting there aren't time restraints involved in a vasectomy and there often are for an abortion.
Moreover, Favors said, informed consent on a vasectomy involves actions taken by a doctor or health care workers on their own, while her colleagues' bill uses government to impose delay.
The bill would require a physician to discuss the procedure, possible complications and options besides terminating the pregnancy 48 hours before the procedure. That's intended to address safety and other concerns, supporters say.
Planned Parenthood officials said they provide informed consent to women and argued that abortion is one of the safest medical procedures. They called a 48-hour wait unnecessary and an undue burden on women.
"This is not about safety, it's about keeping women from making their own health care decisions," charged Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville.
But Rep. Sabi Kumar, R-Springfield, a surgeon, said, "I go through informed consent" with patients. "To me it appears logical. ... It is a time to hit a button and consider that decision."
The Senate bill is now headed for floor debate. The House bill goes next to the Calendar and Rules Committee. Presuming it passes there, the final step would be a floor vote.
The bill is one of several Republican lawmakers have brought up this year seeking to restore abortion regulations since voters last year amended the Tennessee Constitution to allow them.
Both sides agree any changes must stay within requirements set by a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings over the last four decades.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.