Kane County Reporter

Illinois state Sen. Andrew Chesney recently spoke out against House Bill 2350, which mandates that all insured individuals be provided with Pap smear tests and prostate cancer screenings, regardless of gender, in a Facebook post on May 5.

Chesney said the bill goes against scientific facts and claimed it is the type of legislation that confuses people, particularly children, in a video of a legislative session posted to his YouTube page.

“If you wonder why people do crazy stuff - this is exactly why," Chesney said. "Biological males cannot get pap smears. It's not possible it is physically and anatomically impossible. It's not even - it’s not even following science. You know, people don't understand why we're kind of you know doing goofball things. This is why, right? Biological women cannot go get a prostate exam it's not possible, right?"

Chesney shared a link to the video in his Facebook post where he stated, “Democrats think that women need a prostate exam.”

He also didn’t hold back while discussing the legislation on the house floor.

"So, we can do all the gender feel-good garbage, but this is why our kids are confused," Chesney said. "This is why kids are dressing up as furries and want kitty litters in the bathrooms is because you guys won't follow science. There are two genders. There are two genders possible. There's not three, there's not four. There's two. The crazy stuff like this is why people are confused and the kids don't know what the hell's going on because they're confused because of legislation like this. Drop the pronoun crap there are two genders, period."

House Bill 2350, which passed both houses on May 4, will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, according to the Illinois General Assembly website. The bill requires coverage for annual cervical smears or Pap smear tests for all insureds and annual prostate cancer screenings for insureds upon the recommendation of a physician licensed to practice medicine for specified individuals. The bill also mandates annual prostate cancer screenings for insureds who are 40 years of age or older and have a genetic predisposition to prostate cancer.

Rep. Kelly Cassidy filed the bill with the clerk of the House on Feb. 14, and it moved to the Senate on March 22. The bill passed both houses on May 4.

Chesney has represented Illinois’ 89th District since December 2018, according to his biography on the Illinois General Assembly website. Before that, he served as a member of the Freeport City Council and was a board member of the Regional Access Mobilization Project, an organization that provides advocacy and support services for people with disabilities. Chesney has also been a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.