 "Dr Nisha Verma is the child of Indian immigrant parents. She is a board-certified OBGYN and a subspecialist in complex family planning. Reuters")
“Can men get pregnant?”
That was the question that resulted in an Indian-origin gynaecologist hitting the spotlight after making an appearance at a hearing in the United States.
Dr Nisha Verma, an obstetrics-gynaecology (OBGYN) specialist, has gone viral after testifying as a witness in the US Senate. This came after Verma was questioned by a Republican senator on whether it is possible for men to get pregnant.
But who is Dr Verma? What do we know about her? And what happened?
Let’s take a closer look:
Who is Dr Verma?
Verma is the child of Indian immigrant parents. She was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. Verma received her Bachelor’s in Biology and Anthropology and her medical degree from the University of North Carolina. Verma did her residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre. She finished her Complex Family Planning Fellowship and Master’s in Public Health degree at Emory University.
Verma is a board-certified OBGYN and a subspecialist in complex family planning. She provides care in Georgia and Massachusetts. She is also a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health. Verma is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine.
Verma has carried out abortion-related research in restrictive areas. Her expertise is working at the intersection of policy, advocacy, and research. Verma has co-authored several research papers, including “A Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Abortion Restrictions on People with High-Risk Pregnancies in Georgia”, “Perspectives on an Early Abortion Ban in a Restrictive US State: A Qualitative Exploration”, and “Self-Managed Abortion in the United States.”
She has previously testified in front of Congress on the harms of abortion restrictions.
What happened?
Verma was testifying in front of the US Senate’s Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Wednesday.
The hearing, entitled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs”, was taking place at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Verma had been called as a witness by the Democrats.
Verma, in her opening remarks, called the science on medication abortion, particularly mifepristone, “longstanding and settled”. The drug, which had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration over two decades ago, is used in concert with another drug called misoprostol to induce a medication abortion.
The drug came into the spotlight after the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v Wade, which ended a woman’s right to abortion in the United States. Since then, several US states have tried to ban the drug. The FDA, during the Covid-19 pandemic, had begun allowing the pills to be sent via mail. After Roe was overturned, the administration announced it would allow the drug to be bought over the counter in a bid to expand abortion access.
Verma noted that mifepristone has a lower complication rate than many other drugs approved by the FDA which are widely available by prescription and over the counter across the United States.
“Knowing their safety and efficacy, I took these medications myself a few months ago after my husband and I experienced a devastating pregnancy loss. Luckily, in Massachusetts, we were able to obtain the medications from our local pharmacy and complete this very difficult process safely, privately, and at home. Unfortunately, for many people, unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone make this evidence-based care unavailable, and force them to undergo additional hardship during already heartbreaking experiences,” she said.
‘Can men get pregnant?’
The controversy arose after Republican Senator Ashley Moody asked, “Miss Verma, can men get pregnant?”
“Dr Verma,” the Indian-origin OBGYN responded. Senator Moody asked again, “Dr Verma, can men get pregnant?”
Verma paused. Then, committee chair Bill Cassidy said, “I think it’s science-based, by the way, that men can’t have babies.”
Finally, Republican Senator Josh Hawley asked Verma, “Since you bring it up, why don’t we start there. Dr Verma, I wasn’t sure I understood your answer to Senator Moody a moment ago. Do you think that men can get pregnant?”
Verma paused before answering. “I hesitated there… of how the conversation was going or what the goal was,” Verma said. “I do take care of patients with different identities. I take care of many women. I take care of people with different identities.”
“The goal is to establish a biological reality. This is about science and evidence. This is not a hypothetical question,” Hawley continued.
“Science and evidence should guide medicine. But I also think yes-or-no questions like this are political tools,” Verma said.
But Hawley refused to give up.
“You are called by the other side as an expert, and you are a doctor and you follow the science and evidence. I just want to know, based on the evidence, can men get pregnant? That’s a yes-or-no question,” Hawley said. “You don’t even acknowledge the basic reality that biological men don’t get pregnant. There is a difference between biological men and biological women. I don’t know how we can take you seriously and your claims to be a person of science.”
Verma responded, “I’m a person of science, and I’m also here to represent the complex experiences of my patients. I don’t think polarised language or questions sort that goal.”
The clip of Verma and Hawley’s confrontation then went viral on social media. Billionaire Elon Musk chimed in, saying, “It’s absurd that this question is even asked.”
With inputs from agencies