Protesting KY Abortion Law, Lawmaker Wants Wives' Permission To Be Required For Men To Get Viagra

(CBS) - Under a new bill proposed by a Kentucky state legislator, men seeking erectile dysfunction treatments such as Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra, would need to visit a doctor twice and get written permission from their wives before receiving the drugs.

House Bill 369 would also require a man be married and "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."

Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Democrat from Louisville, proposed the law last week as a pointed statement to anti-abortion advocates.

"My point is to illustrate how intrusive and ridiculous it is for elected officials to be inserting themselves into private and personal medical decisions," she told Reuters.

The proposal comes days after Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, signed an "informed consent" law requiring women to receive counsel from a doctor 24 hours before having an abortion.

Marzian, who is a nurse, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that her bill is a form of protest against the intervention into women's health by a predominantly male General Assembly.

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