(RightWing.org) – Liberals love quoting George Orwell, the author of the dystopian classic “1984.” The social critic and self-described democratic socialist warned that if thought could corrupt language, language itself can corrupt. Michigan’s Democratic-led Senate appears to have embraced that concept when they recently passed a law that would institute gender-neutral breastfeeding if the measure reaches the governor’s desk.
On October 18, the Michigan Senate passed SB 351, a measure designed to amend the title and section 37.232 of the state’s 2014 Breastfeeding Antidiscrimination Act (2014 PA 197). The legislation would update all gender-specific language in the existing statute to neutral. For example, the word “she” and “mother” and any variants (i.e., “mother’s”) is changed to “an individual” or “the individual” wherever it appears in the current version of the law.
Senator Michele Hoitenga (R-District 36) introduced a measure reversing the use of gender-neutral language — effectively returning the statute’s language to its original gender-specific wording. However, she didn’t alter the bill’s protections, providing new guidelines for mothers using breast pumps in public.
Hoitenga addressed the chamber before the Senate took a vote on her amendment. She told her fellow lawmakers that she never imagined needing to ask “the Legislature” to consider such a measure. She said that to the best of her knowledge, “women… are the only people who can breastfeed or pump milk.”
Senator Jeff Irwin (D-District 15), SB 351‘s sponsor, had an opportunity to address the Senate as well. He asked his colleagues to oppose the amendment, claiming the bill was about supporting mothers and “not about some twisted culture war.”
As usual, Democrats remained united in pushing their “woke” agenda and voted unanimously to scrap Hoitenga’s amendment while all 18 Republicans voted to adopt her proposed changes.
Curiously, six Republicans ended up voting with Democrats on the original measure, and SB-351 passed by a margin of 26 yeas to 12 nays, with no abstentions.
The state House received SB-351 later that day and referred the measure to the chamber’s Judiciary Committee for consideration.
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