‘Can men get pregnant?’: Josh Hawley grills medical expert in heated Senate exchange
🚨Stop what you’re doing and watch this full exchange between Senator Josh Hawley and a “Dr”
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 14, 2026
Hawley asks over a DOZEN times if men can get pregnant and she CAN’T ANSWER.
She blanks, then gives word salads and excuses for why she won’t answer.
This is the star testimony for… pic.twitter.com/Q59DDQCPJC
WASHINGTON, DC: A prominent OB-GYN and reproductive health adviser repeatedly declined to provide a definitive "yes" or "no" when asked whether men can become pregnant during a Senate hearing on abortion pills on Wednesday, January 14.
Dr Nisha Verma, who was testifying as an expert, declined to answer when Senator Josh Hawley asked whether men could get pregnant.
Senate hearing sparks clash over pregnancy and gender definitions
The exchange took place before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where Dr Nisha Verma, a senior adviser to Physicians for Reproductive Health, appeared as a Democratic witness.
While Dr Verma acknowledged her role in caring for many pregnant women, she appeared hesitant when Ashley Moody and Josh Hawley pressed her on whether "men can get pregnant."
Dr Verma initially avoided the line of questioning, later explaining her reluctance by saying, “I hesitated there because I wasn’t sure where the conversation was going or what the goal was. I mean, I do take care of patients with different identities. I take care of many women.”
Josh Hawley demands biological facts during tense senate hearing
Josh Hawley told the doctor that he was simply trying to address basic facts.
He said, “The goal is to establish a biological reality. You just said a moment ago that science and evidence should control, not politics. So let’s just text that proposition.”
The science is clear: Mifepristone is safe, effective, and a critical part of reproductive health care. pic.twitter.com/oPv9cirYm8
— Protect Our Care (@ProtectOurCare) January 14, 2026
Dr Nisha Verma argued that the issue was more complicated than a simple "yes" or "no."
She later told the senator, “I do treat people that don’t identify as women,” and said, “I think yes-no questions like this are a political tool.” Dr Verma accused the lawmaker of using the question to advance a political argument rather than engage in a medical discussion.
Fight over abortion pill safety
Josh Hawley concluded the exchange by offering his own answer to the question.
He stated, “For the record, it’s women who get pregnant, not men. I don’t know how we can take you seriously and your claims to be a person of science if you won’t level on this basic issue.”
He added, “I thought we were past all of this.”
The exchange occurred as the committee discussed the safety of mifepristone, a pill used in most abortions in the United States.
While many doctors say the medication is safe, some groups and officials, including Robert F Kennedy Jr and Marty Makary, have called for closer investigation of its potential risks.
