Lakhota
Diamond Member
By Judd Legum
An Ohio State Senator is turning the tables on men seeking to regulate womens access to reproductive health. Sen. Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) has introduced legislation regulating mens access to erectile dysfunction drugs. The Dayton Daily News has the details:
Before getting a prescription for Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drugs, men would have to see a sex therapist, receive a cardiac stress test and get a notarized affidavit signed by a sexual partner affirming impotency, if state Sen. Nina Turner has her way.
The Cleveland Democrat introduced Senate Bill 307 this week.
A critic of efforts to restrict abortion and contraception for women, Turner says she is concerned about mens reproductive health Turner said if state policymakers want to legislate womens health choices through measures such as House Bill 125, known as the Heartbeat bill, they should also be able to legislate mens reproductive health.
Turners bill tracks FDA guidelines which recommends doctors determine whether the root cause of mens sexual disfunction is physical or psychological. She describes her bill as an effort to legislate it the same way mostly men say they want to legislate a womans womb.
There have been similar efforts in other states. An Illinois bill would require men to watch a horrific video on the side effects of Viagra. In Virginia, Sen. Janet Howell (D) submitted a bill requiring men to undergo a digital rectal exam before receiving a prescription for erectile disfunction drugs.
Conservative commentators such as Sean Hannity have dismissed the comparison, claiming that Viagra unlike birth control treats a medical problem. Most women, however, use birth control for medical purposes other than family planning.
Ohio Bill Would Require Men Submit Affidavit From Sex Partner Confirming Impotence Before Receiving Viagra | ThinkProgress