(The Lion) — A tense exchange between Sen. Josh Hawley and a physician testifying on Capitol Hill went viral Wednesday after the doctor declined to answer a basic biological question.

“You said a moment ago that science and evidence should control, not politics,” Hawley, R-Missouri, said to Dr. Nisha Verma during the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing. “So let’s just test that proposition, can men get pregnant?”

Verma, who was testifying about the safety of the abortion pill, hedged her answer and eventually told Hawley that “yes/no questions like this are a political tool.”

“Yes/no questions are about the truth,” Hawley responded. “Doctor, let’s not make a mockery of this proceeding. This is about science and evidence.

“You’re a doctor and you follow the science and the evidence. So I just want to know, based on the science, can men get pregnant?”

Despite repeated questioning, Verma refused to answer the question, which Hawley said he was asking one day after the Supreme Court heard testimony about whether states can exclude transgender athletes from women’s sports, a matter which includes debates about biology.

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