WATCH: Congressman Asks Abortion Rights Panel if Women Have Ever Given Birth to a Turtle or Taco

Things got weird during a House hearing on abortion rights when Rep. Jody Hice asked the president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, Fatima Goss Graves, if women could give birth to a turtle or a taco.

Yes, that appears to be the current state of Socratic discourse in our nation’s capital. Hice is a committed pro-life advocate who was trying to make the case that life starts at conception. He was also trying to score some cheap political points, and perhaps go viral, by ridiculing First Lady Jill Biden.

The First Lady apologized for a ham-fisted metaphor in which she celebrated the diversity of Hispanic-Americans by citing the unique nature of “breakfast tacos” in San Antonio. Many blamed her for calling Hispanics tacos — she did not — but it was a weird comment anyway. But I digress.

So Hice thought it would be maybe cute to include that in an obvious effort to make his guest look foolish. “Are there any instance of a woman giving birth to something that is not a human being, a baby like a turtle, or as our First Lady suggested, a breakfast taco. I mean, is there any instance where other than a human being has been born?” he asked.

“Well, there are definitely are instances where people have stillborn,” Goss Graves replied. Then, impossibly, the exchange went downhill from there. The transcript of their back and forth is below.

Rep. Hice: Are there any instance of a woman giving birth to something that is not a human being, a baby like a turtle, or as our first lady suggested, a breakfast taco. I mean, is there any instance where other than a human being has been born?

Goss Graves: Well, there are definitely are instances where people have stillborn.

Rep. Hice: I was still a baby.

Goss Graves: I guess the point is.

Rep. Hice: Still a person, is it not?

Goss Graves: If I can finish, I actually think that Representative Shannon’s point about viability is goes to exactly what you were naming when I’m.

Rep. Hice: Talking about personal viability.

Goss Graves: It did so because the consideration was whether or not the fetus can live outside of the body.

Rep. Hice: There are many people who cannot live without insulin. Does that mean we should kill those people who cannot live without insulin? Well, there’s no other intelligence. This is my time.

Goss Graves: Oh, I thought you were asking us. So I was wanting to have an opportunity to explain. So it’s not a question of turtles or, I’m not really sure what it is a question of.

Rep. Hice: It’s a question of personhood. That’s what I’m getting to. And there is not an instance that I’m aware of of anyone giving birth to something other than a person. So if it is a person after birth, it by extension is that person before birth.

Goss Graves: I really hope people are watching today because the question on the table is about abortion for sure. But actually the conversation you’re having is about contraception. It’s about in vitro fertilization is about a whole large.

Rep. Hice : No, no, you mischaracterize. I’m having a clear discussion about abortion and the fact that it is a person it is a person that we’re dealing with. And that person after birth clearly is a person. And therefore, by extension, before birth is also a person. And the question comes down to when does a person have the right to life and when does a person have the right to health care? And we can argue all day that it’s that abortion is health care. It certainly is not health care to the baby. Health care protects life and abortion, by definition, boy’s life. It is not health care. But if we’re talking about a person, which we are. We’re not talking a taco. We’re talking a person in the womb.

Goss Graves: We’re talking where it is.

Watch above, via C-SPAN.