Mary Lou Marzian, a Democrat from Kentucky, introduced a bill into state legislature last week proposing strict rules and restrictions on the ability of men in the state to obtain erectile dysfunction medications, such as viagra. The bill is a tongue-in-cheek response to anti-abortion legislation signed into law by Kentucky governor Matt Bevin requiring, among other things, women to receive a medical consultation 24 hours before having an abortion. 

Marzian thought the “informed consent” bill, as it was called, reeked of sexism and resulted in the government interfering in a woman’s private, difficult, decisions in a way they wouldn’t with a man. Her response was to introduce legislation targeting a personal health issue for men. 

I thought if we’re going to insert ourselves into women’s most private health care decisions, then we should insert ourselves into men’s most private health care decisions, as well.

Her bill would require men to jump through similarly embarrassing and difficult hoops before being able to acquire any type of medication for erectile dysfunction, including Viagra. Men would have to visit their doctor twice, have a signed and dated letter consenting to the treatment from their spouse, and would have to swear on the Bible that the pills would only be used to have sexual relations with their spouse. The legislation would also restrict those eligible for treatment to married men. Marzian echoed the sentiments so often uttered by religious men defending anti-abortion legislation, saying, “I want to protect these  men from themselves…this is about family values”. 

Her point is not to get this bill passed; in fact, she doesn’t believe it will even be heard. The true goal is to highlight the hypocrisy seen in the Kentucky legislature. Marzian said that members of the legislature are constantly speaking out in government intervention into the private lives of citizens – even a smoking ban was defeated. This reluctance to interfere in the lives of the people seems to end when it comes to women’s bodies, and Marzian wanted to do something to clearly show how hypocritical legislative decisions such as these really are. The bill was also meant to highlight how hypocritical her colleagues’ constant references to “Christian values” were, by including that the erectile dysfunction medication would only be available to men who are married. 

Knowing that the bill would never be passed, Marzian choose a topic that would strike a deeply personal chord with her fellow legislators. She said that she has discovered “men are very touchy about their sexual lives” and that she “wanted to hit a chord that men could understand how it feels to have a politician say, ‘well, you really don’t know enough; you don’t know enough about your body; and we need to insert ourselves into your private life.’”

Marzian has her eyes on future, controversial, legislation as well. She has plans to introduce a bill which would require potential gun owners to receive advice from victims of gun violence 24 hours before purchasing a firearm. Her reasoning? “I’m just making sure the government is taking care of your safety.”

Her proposed legislation regarding men’s access to viagra can be found here, and it is worth a read.