Senator Mia McLeod is trying to make it as hard to get erectile dysfunction drugs as it is to have an abortion

She wants men to have counselling to attempt to 'pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice'

Mia McLeod wants to make it as hard to get erectile dysfunctional drugs as it is to have an abortion in South Carolina (Mia McLeod)

A senator wants to impose harsher restrictions on men obtaining Viagra in response to increasing anti-abortion laws that restrict women’s reproductive rights.

Mia McLeod, a South Carolina state representative has proposed a bill that would make getting Viagra, Cialis and other similar drugs much harder after the introduction of the Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers laws, which reduce women’s access to abortions.

Under the proposed law, men seeking the drug would need an affidavit from their sexual partner, verifying an experience of erectile dysfunction within the last 90 days.

She says the bill is sending a message to her State House colleagues.

“Those who are adamant about introducing some type of abortion bill every session, that’s what this is about. She said, speaking to the Free Times newspaper.

“I just decided that until they could stay out of my uterus, I would refuse to stay out of their bedroom.

As well as having legal documents, Ms McLeod wants men to undergo medical tests too.

These include a cardiac stress test and counselling to attempt to “pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice”. Men will also receive written warnings of the dangers of erectile dysfunction.

If men are then still successful in obtaining the medication, they would then also have to wait 24 hours between receiving a prescription and buying the drug.

This is based on South Carolina’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period for an abortion.

“All the things that they come up with are invasive. I just think it’s time for a little pushback on that end,” she adds.

Other legislators have protested against the state’s abortion laws.

State representative Kelly Casidy protested in 2012 against a bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before an abortion. She wanted men who were after ED medication to watch a graphic video on the drug’s potential side effects while Virgina senator Janet Howell wanted men to have a rectal exam prior to getting the drug.