March 13, 2012--Returning the Favor
Ohio state Senator Nina Turner (D) isn't happy with bills that seek to control women's access to contraception and abortion. She has joined a trend across the nation by introducing a bill that would require men seeking a prescription for erectile dysfunction drugs to see a sex therapist, receive a cardiac stress test and "get a notarized affidavit signed by a sexual partner affirming impotency." Sex therapists would be required to present the option of "celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice.”
"The men in our lives, including members of the General Assembly, generously devote time to fundamental female reproductive issues—the least we can do is return the favor," Senator Turner said. "It is crucial that we take the appropriate steps to shelter vulnerable men from the potential side effects of these drugs."
She continued, "When a man makes a crucial decision about his health and his body, he should be fully aware of the alternative options and the lifetime repercussions of that decision. Men will be more easily guided through the process of obtaining treatment for impotence so they can better understand and more effectively address their condition."
Senator Turner isn't the only legislator to introduce a "Viagra bill" or amendments in response to what mostly male legislators have been proposing around the nation.
In Illinois, for instance, state Representative Kelly Cassidy (D) introduced an amendment to a bill requiring ultrasounds before a woman can get an abortion that would require men to watch an explicit video about the side-effects of erectile dysfunction drugs. Particularly that 4-hour erection problem. And, Missouri state Representative Stacey Newman (D) is promoting a bill that would allow a man to obtain a vasectomy only when not doing so could cause him serious injury or death.
Some may consider these moves to be ironic gestures, but they should be considered as serious as those being enacted into law that violate women's privacy and put men in control of women's bodies.
"The men in our lives, including members of the General Assembly, generously devote time to fundamental female reproductive issues—the least we can do is return the favor," Senator Turner said. "It is crucial that we take the appropriate steps to shelter vulnerable men from the potential side effects of these drugs."
She continued, "When a man makes a crucial decision about his health and his body, he should be fully aware of the alternative options and the lifetime repercussions of that decision. Men will be more easily guided through the process of obtaining treatment for impotence so they can better understand and more effectively address their condition."
Senator Turner isn't the only legislator to introduce a "Viagra bill" or amendments in response to what mostly male legislators have been proposing around the nation.
In Illinois, for instance, state Representative Kelly Cassidy (D) introduced an amendment to a bill requiring ultrasounds before a woman can get an abortion that would require men to watch an explicit video about the side-effects of erectile dysfunction drugs. Particularly that 4-hour erection problem. And, Missouri state Representative Stacey Newman (D) is promoting a bill that would allow a man to obtain a vasectomy only when not doing so could cause him serious injury or death.
Some may consider these moves to be ironic gestures, but they should be considered as serious as those being enacted into law that violate women's privacy and put men in control of women's bodies.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:19 AM
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