Back in February 2015, Idaho state Rep. Vincent Barbieri made himself smalltime famous when a video of the anti-abortion lawmaker revealed the depths of his ignorance about people’s bodies during a hearing. During that hearing, Barbieri asked physician, Julie Madsen, whether or not technology used by some to offer patients a less invasive colonoscopy could also be used to scope reproductive organs like a uterus. The exchange, which included laughter from the audience at the time, went like this:
Barbieri: You mentioned the risk of colonoscopy. Can that be done by drugs?
Madsen: Mr. Chairman, Rep. Barbieri, it cannot be done by drugs. It can, however, be done remotely, where you swallow a pill, and this pill has a little camera, and it makes its way through your intestines, and those images are uploaded to a doctor who's often thousands of miles away, who then interprets that.
Barbieri: Follow up, Mr. Chairman.
Chair: Rep. Barbieri.
Barbieri: Can this same procedure then be done in a pregnancy? Swallowing a camera and helping the doctor determine what the situation is, with the …
Madsen: Mr. Chairman and Representative, it cannot be done in pregnancy simply because when you swallow a pill, it would not end up in the vagina.
[laughter]
Barbieri: Fascinating! That certainly makes sense, doctor.
With the Supreme Court’s recent decision to reverse Americans' rights (the first time in the history of the court that this has happened), along with the mealy-mouthed responses that many GOP candidates and leadership have given to the press during the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections, the clip of Barbieri’s self-righteous ignorance has gone viral once again. Maybe it is because most Americans, across the political spectrum—that aren’t guys without reproductive organs—don’t agree with this archaic theocratical position.
But there are so many examples to choose from!