Top Senate Democratic candidates refuse to say whether men can get pregnant, or define the word 'woman'

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Sen. Hawley responds to viral moment with Berkeley professor regarding term 'woman'

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., joins 'Hannity' following exchange about 'people with a capacity for pregnancy' during abortion hearing.

Several Democrats who are seeking election or re-election in states around the country refused to provide a definition for the word "woman" or offer their thoughts on whether men have the capacity to become pregnant.

Fox News Digital reached out to multiple Democratic candidates about the topics and received no responses from the campaigns of Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Senate nominees John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Ryan of Ohio, and Cheri Beasley of North Carolina.

Ahead of the midterm elections, and amid the debate on whether abortion should be protected federally, several individuals, including members of the media, have started defending the contentious notion that men have the ability to get pregnant and have abortions.

In May, Aimee Arrambide, the executive director of the pro-choice nonprofit Avow Texas, was asked by Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., to define what "a woman is" during her testimony on abortion as a Democrat witness before the House Judiciary Committee.

From left: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Tim Ryan. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Michael M. Santiago, Eric Lee/Bloomberg, Daniel Acker/Bloomberg )

DEM WITNESS TELLS HOUSE COMMITTEE MEN CAN GET PREGNANT, HAVE ABORTIONS

"I believe that everyone can identify for themselves," she responded.

Bishop then asked Arrambide whether she believes "men can become pregnant and have abortions," to which she simply responded, "Yes."

Aimee Arrambide attends Making Virtual Storytelling and Activism Personal during the SXSW Conference and Festivals on March 14, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (Hubert Vestil/Getty Images for SXSW)

Earlier this month, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., made headlines after he clashed with a liberal University of California-Berkeley professor whom he questioned for her repeated use of the term "people with a capacity for pregnancy" during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Supreme Court's recent ruling on abortion. Hawley asked Professor Khiara Bridges if she meant to refer to "women" when she repeatedly used the phrase. 

"There are also trans-men who have the capacity for pregnancy," Bridges replied, adding that "cis-women" and "non-binary people" do get pregnant from sexual intercourse. Bridges also called Hawley's questioning "transphobic and opens up trans-people to violence."

Sen. Josh Hawley during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on April 27, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"Here is the modern Democrat Party today," Hawley later told Fox News. "It [deems] that you have to say that ‘men can get pregnant.' And if you don't say it, then you are a bigot and you are responsible for violence."

"That is the party line," he added. "Let's not forget who invited this witness. She was there as a Democrat witness. You didn't see a single Democrat disagree with that. In fact, they're all over social media applauding her and saying, 'Oh, that's exactly right.'"

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Following Hawley's exchange with the Democrat witness, Washington Post politics writer Mariana Alfaro lashed out at him. The paper gave credence to Bridges' statements that seemed unwilling to say only biological women could get pregnant. According to Alfaro, Hawley "refused to acknowledge transgender people" by not recognizing the "gender-neutral" language Bridges used.

Hawley's exchange came months after President Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, now an associate justice, was asked by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to define the word "woman" during her confirmation hearings before the Senate.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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"Can I provide a definition? No," Jackson responded. "I can't."

Jackson declared that she is "not a biologist" and concluded that she could not speak to the question at hand.

Fox News' Charles Creitz, Kristine Parks and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this article.