Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

When is it appropriate to compare a man’s erectile dysfunction to having an abortion?

I ask because yesterday a state senator in the US, Janet Howell, tried to amend a bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before an abortion, by adding a clause stating that men should have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before getting a prescription for erectile dysfunction.

Sadly, Howell’s amendment was rejected, although she got 19 votes in favour and only 21 against. Six of the seven women in the Virginia senate voted for her amendment.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the sponsor of the mandatory ultrasound bill, Senator Jill Vogel, did not. Vogel’s bill was passed.

Still, Howell clearly has a sense of humour, telling the Huffington Post:

“We need some gender equity here. The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have a totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience.

“If we’re going to do that to women, why not do that to men?”

Good question.