Deborah Yetter

The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

LOUISVILLE — According to a bill filed last week, men in Kentucky seeking erectile dysfunction treatment would have to visit a doctor twice and have signed permission from their wives before obtaining a prescription for Viagra or other drugs to treat ED.

Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Democrat who sponsored House Bill 396, said the bill is merely an effort to protect men's health and ensure they are informed about a drug with potentially dangerous side effects.

"I want to protect these men from themselves," said Marzian, a nurse.

The bill also specifies that only married men may obtain the drug and requires "a man to make a sworn statement with his hand on a Bible that he will only use a prescription for a drug for erectile dysfunction when having sexual relations with his current spouse."

"This is about family values," Marzian said.

But she acknowledged the bill is a pointed response to several measures against abortion in the current legislative session, including Senate Bill 4, which requires a woman seeking an abortion to get counseling 24 hours in advance of the procedure from a health professional. The counseling must be in person or via live telecommunications.

Bill would make men wait 24 hours for Viagra

SB 4, called the "informed consent" bill, passed the legislature at the beginning of the month and was signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin on Feb. 4.

According to MSNBC, the law makes Kentucky the 27th state to require women to undergo counseling and wait a designated amount of time before having an abortion.

Marzian, an abortion-rights supporter, said HB 396 also is meant to protest intervention by a predominantly male General Assembly into women's health.

"Do we really want a bunch of legislators interfering in private, personal, medical decisions?" she asked.

Kentucky is just the latest state to have such a bill proposed in the legislature.

In December, a representative in South Carolina introduced similar legislation, NBC reported at the time. The bill, introduced by Rep. Mia McLeod, a Democrat from Columbia, S.C, would have required a man to wait 24 hours before getting Viagra, Cialis or any other erectile dysfunction drug. The man also would have had to "submit a notorized affidavit from at least one sexual partner" that the man had experienced ED symptoms within 90 days.

"I purposely tried to make it as invasive, as intrusive, as hypocritical and unnecessary as possible to make the point," she said in December. She didn't think the bill would pass but wanted to draw attention to the challenges women face to get an abortion in South Carolina.

Marzian said she doesn't expect her bill, which was introduced Feb. 11, to get very far. It has been moved into the health and welfare committee. But she's not done.

Marzian said she also plans to file a bill requiring potential gun buyers to obtain counseling 24 hours in advance from victims of gun violence before the purchase.

"I'm just making sure the government is taking care of your safety," she said.

Follow Deborah Yetter on Twitter: @d_yetter