In Response To Proposed Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill, Sen. Farnese Proposes Invasive Tests For Men
By Chelsea Karnash
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – In the wake of the controversy surrounding a bill that would require women seeking abortions to get a pre-procedure ultrasound, one Pennsylvania Senator has introduced similar legislation—for men.
Democratic Senator Larry Farnese says he plans to introduce a new bill next week that would require men with erectile dysfunction (ED) to undergo similarly invasive testing.
Under Farnese's proposal, male patients seeking treatment for ED would be required to undergo a full prostate exam and cardiac stress test, submit a signed affidavit from a sexual partner that confirms the patient suffers from ED, participate in sex therapy, and watch a video that describes the side effects of medication used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Bill 1077, which would require women to undergo a pre-abortion invasive ultrasound, was recently introduced in Pennsylvania, but is now stalled after opposition from medical organizations.
Republican Governor Tom Corbett had pledged to support the controversial bill, inciting outrage after commenting that women who didn't want the procedure could "just close their eyes" (see previous story).
Sen. Farnese says his bill is meant to underscore the "ridiculousness" of Bill 1077, and what many see as the hypocrisy of requiring women to submit to a "degrading" invasive procedure mandated by law without requiring men to do the same.
