The government has, yet again, decided to make the bodies and private lives of women its own personal business.
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin recently signed a bill requiring women to consult with a doctor at least 24 hours before an abortion. According to the Washington Post, the “Informed Consent” bill passed with 92 votes on January 28, 2016.
Kentucky, my birthplace, my family’s home for countless generations…Kentucky, I love you, but—what kind of bullshit is this? Passing laws that only push women further into that dark, confusing space of yeah, yeah, it’s your body and your choice, but—no, not really. Let us tell you what you should do. Because we know everything, including what’s best for you.
Representative Mary Lou Marzian, a Louisville Democrat, was one of only three members of the Kentucky House to vote against the law, which takes effect in July.
One week after the “Informed Consent” bill passed, Marzian introduced a new law—House Bill 396. This bill would force men who want to use erectile dysfunction drugs to visit a doctor beforehand and provide notes from their wives. These men would also be required to swear—on the Bible—that the erectile dysfunction drugs would only be used when having sexual relations with their current spouse.
“I started thinking, ‘How would this body of men feel if the government was injecting [itself] into their private medical decisions,’ ” Marzian stated when asked about her controversial bill.
Basically, how would men feel if they were treated like women?
Marzian is willing to shove men’s self-righteous, imposing ignorance in their faces. I think her bill is genius, intelligent, and sassy.
What some men expect of women is ridiculous. And they need a taste of their own medicine. Is it actually necessary for men to visit a doctor and get a note from their wife for Viagra? No. But it is equally unnecessary for women to be forced to see a doctor before choosing abortion.
Marzian admitted that her bill is more symbolic than serious and she doesn’t expect it to receive much support.
Her bill makes a statement, sends a message. She’s trying to show Governor Bevin, and all the other reps who voted for the “informed consent” bill, that we have crossed a line. We’ve gone too far. Invaded women’s rights, yet again. In a way the government would never invade men’s rights. As per usual.
What women choose to do with their bodies is their own damn business, and shouldn’t be monitored by a man’s law.
In a world where everyone is trying to control women’s bodies like objects, Marzian’s actions come as a refreshing reminder of the capability and power one woman’s voice holds.
“I’m just making sure the government is taking care of your safety.” she said.
And, she’s right. If the government wants to make so damn sure that women are well informed of their medical decisions, shouldn’t the government enforce equally harsh requirements on men?
We have become a society in which regulating women’s reproductive rights is seen as normal. These imposed laws have far reaching effects on the lives of women, from their freedom to make personal life choices to their socioeconomic well-being. And this is f*cking bothersome, particularly given the fact that the majority of the lawmakers making such legislation are men.
Mary Lou Marzian is not the first brave elected official to take a stance. Apparently, the illustration of the inequity of rights needs repetition in order to take hold. In 2012, Ohio Senator Nina Turner penned similar legislation, a bill which would require men seeking Viagra to have a cardiac stress test prior to receiving a prescription, provide documentation from a current sex partner that they do indeed suffer from erectile dysfunction, AND consult a professional sex therapist.
Perhaps the most well-known is the Georgia House Bill 1116, which stated: “Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies.”
None of these proposed legislation attempting to impose limits on men’s reproductive rights were passed into law. And the elected officials who bravely penned the bills likely did not expect them to.
What these brave female lawmakers intended was to start a conversation—a conversation about how our society has been somehow lulled into complacency to accept such a striking disparity in rights with regard to reproduction. Because such a conversation needs to begin and remain and grow until all of us recognize what is in actuality—right in front of us—inequality.
And inequality negatively affects everyone.
And so from one Kentucky girl to another, Mary Lou, well done. The women of the Bluegrass applaud you and hope your voice is heard in Frankfort and echoes throughout the nation.
Image via courier-journal.com
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