‘Can men get pregnant’: Indian-American doctor Nisha Verma grilled by senators in abortion hearing

During a Senate hearing on chemical abortion drugs in the US on Wednesday, Republican senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ashley Moody of Florida led the debate which turned into a heated exchange between Hawley and Indian-origin doctor Nisha Verma. The hearing titled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs” was focused on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, which is a prescription drug and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019. The hearing took place in the Dirksen Senate Office building. Hawley, who is a politician and an attorney, was involved in a tense exchange with Dr Nisha Verma over an interjecting question he reiterated multiple times during the debate - “Can men get pregnant?” The interaction between Hawley and Dr Verma, who is a double board-certified obstetrics-gynaecologist, went viral on social media and a clip of the hearing was also posted on X by the senator. SPOILER ALERT: Men cannot get pregnant - Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) pic.twitter.com/08JwHUlxIj January 14, 2026 In the caption of the video, Hawley wrote, “SPOILER ALERT: Men cannot get pregnant.” He followed up with another post where he wrote, “Can men get pregnant? Not a difficult question.” Can men get pregnant? 🤔 - Senator Ashley Moody (@SenAshleyMoody) pic.twitter.com/MvaWO6xwy9 January 14, 2026 Florida Senator Ashley Moody also posted the video clip of the heated exchange and wrote a similar caption, “Can men get pregnant?” Hawley, during the hearing, tried to extract a yes or no answer from Dr Nisha but she repeatedly declined to answer the senator in a direct manner. Nisha, in her response to Hawley said, “I’m not really sure what the goal of the question is.” But the Senator countered saying, “The goal is just to establish a biological reality. You said just a moment ago that science and evidence should control, not politics. So, let’s test that. Can men get pregnant?” Dr Nisha refused to give in and said, “I take care of people with many identities...I’m also someone here to represent the complex experiences of my patients. I don’t think polarized language or questions serve that goal.” Hawley took a jibe at Nisha while concluding the debate and said, “For the record, it’s women who get pregnant, not men. We are here about the safety of women and science that shows that this abortion drug causes adverse health events.”

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