In those remarkable times when men were men and women knew their place, laws were carried out in any case, even if they offended the principles of equality. Now the situation has changed dramatically, and the law has recognized the principle that, in order to enjoy the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution, the treatment accorded men and women must be the same. But it turns out that there are issues when, somehow, this principle seems to be ignored. For some people, the dictates of religion announce secular ideas of equality, particularly when it comes to abortion. In recent bills brought before the lawmakers in various states, there’s tension in the air. For example, the Senates in Idaho, Virginia, Texas and eight other states are coming toward the passing of laws to require women to go through fetal ultrasound examination before being allowed to proceed with the abortion. In Virginia the situation seems to be quite heated so that the police were recently called to defend the steps into the Capitol. The majority of women consider this bill to be an invasion of the privacy between a doctor and the patient. Worse, it legislates on a strictly medical matter for a political purpose. There’s no medical reason to have a fetal ultrasound. Indeed, since it requires a probe to be inserted into the vagina, it’s considered inappropriate. In this instance, its only purpose is as a deterrent to women about to go through an abortion procedure.

A new bill was drafted by Larry Farnese, a Democrat Senator in Pennsylvania, who wanted to correct the balance. The bill required all men to go through a full prostate examination before being allowed a prescription for an erectile dysfunction drug. In the case that there’s no physical cause for the dysfunction, the requirement would shift to require attendance in sex therapy sessions to determine whether there are psychological problems that need to be solved. In both cases, there would also be a video to watch that would detail the known side effects to using the dysfunction drugs. As you see, the main aim of this bill is to make it more complicated for men to get treatment as it would be for women to get an abortion. Actually it is a direct response to a bill introduced by Kathy Rapp, a Republican, called “The Woman’s Right To Know Act”, i.e. to know the fetal age of the baby and to confirm its heart is still beating by inserting a transvaginal probe.

We would be glad to write that battle has now been joined in Pennsylvania but, unfortunately, the Republicans have a ten-seat majority and can quickly vote down any Democrat bill. But as a result people started talking about that issue, which is a good thing. It has always been seen as a women-only issue. But if men actually believed they might be made to jump through hoops to get their levitra, why can’t they have more sympathy for women. So now you’ve got a sixty-four-thousand dollar question. Do you think our law-makers should have the power to mandate unnecessary medical procedures? With the Supreme Court about to hear argument on the mandate of health insurance, it would be ironic if access to both Levitra and abortion were also subject to mandated procedures.