Lisa Brown – the Democratic state representative for West Bloomfield in Michigan – found herself gagged after house Republicans took exception to her language.
Brown, who has three children, said that the bill's proposals ran contrary to her Jewish beliefs. But it was the manner in which how she concluded her speech: on Wednesday that infuriated Republicans.
"Mr Speaker, I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but 'no' means 'no,'" she said.
Her use of the word "vagina" led house Republicans to prohibit her from speaking on school employee retirement bill.
According to the Detroit News, the majority floor leader, Jim Stamas, ruled that Brown's comments had violated the decorum of the house.
Another Republican, Nashville, MI, representative Mike Callton, added: "What she said was offensive. It was so offensive I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."
Brown expressed her incredulity at the ban at a quickly arranged press conference. "If I can't say the word vagina, why are we legislating [on] vaginas?" she asked. "What language should I use?"
