Men Seeking Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Would Need Note From Spouse Under Proposed Law

By John Dodge

(CBS) -- A man suffering from erectile dysfunction would need a note from his wife before getting prescription treatment, under a bill introduced in the Kentucky legislature.

In addition. before obtaining Viagra, Cialis or any other treatment, the patient would need to visit his doctor twice, prove he is married, and make a sworn statement that he will only have "sexual relations with his current spouse."

The bill (HB 396) was written by Louisville Democrat Mary Lou Marzian.

While the bill was assigned to the Health and Welfare Committee, Marzian tells the New York Times that she doesn't expect the bill to get very far.

However, she says, that's not really the point.

Marzian introduced the bill after the Kentucky Legislature passed a bill that would require women to consult with a doctor or registered nurse (or designated social worker) 24 hours before they have an abortion. That bill (SB 4) was signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin.

Before signing, Bevin said in a statement that overwhelming support among lawmakers for the bill, "is a positive step toward protecting the emotional and physical health and safety of women." SB 4 passed the House 92-3 and the Senate 33-5.

"I recently filed House Bill 396 to illustrate the absurdity of government encroachment into women's personal and medical decisions currently running amok in the Kentucky General Assembly and Bevin administration," Marzian wrote in an op-ed in the Louisville Courier Journal.

"As these legislators and our governor increase efforts to mandate their presence in our doctor's examining rooms I believe it is time we regulate men's reproductive choices," she wrote.

Kentucky Erectile Dysfunction Bill