An editorial from the Sunday NY Times stuck with me. When States Abuse Women by columnist Nickolas Kristof draws the obvious comparison between non-consensual penetration and the new ultrasound requirements for abortions. A Texas doctor commented for the article:
“It’s state-sanctioned abuse,” said Dr. Curtis Boyd, a Texas physician who provides abortions. “It borders on a definition of rape. Many states describe rape as putting any object into an orifice against a person’s will. Well, that’s what this is. A woman is coerced to do this, just as I’m coerced.”
“The state of Texas is waging war on women and their families,” Dr. Boyd added. “The new law is demeaning and disrespectful to the women of Texas, and insulting to the doctors and nurses who care for them.”
As women we are required throughout our lives to have our orifices probed and our breasts squeezed in the name of preventative health and child bearing. I don't think any of us like it, some actually dread and avoid it. And, as we know, the majority of men can't even think about their "junk" being handled by a medical professional, much less having it be an annual event.
Which made me wonder what if anything doctors to do before prescribing Viagra?
Researching this proved difficult. There are so many pages of links to sites offering free samples, and cheap Viagra without prescriptions that I couldn't find any statistics or even conjecture on how many men just skip the doctor and go straight for the pills. If they do go the legitimate way, a urologist performs a thorough exam including a digital rectal and penile anatomy exam. My common sense tells me most men skip that part.
Just another example of how it is still "a man's world." It is harder and more expensive to get birth control, it is getting harder to exercise our legal right to abortion. We still get paid less and find fewer executive spots, seats in congress and other positions of influence. Religious institutions are still run by men who have no interest in promoting or championing women, and, it appears, prefer to turn back the clock and make our lives even more restrictive.
I know a lot of people are counting on women to rise up and fight against all these attacks on our freedoms. I am certainly talking to my daughters about it, my son, too. But sometimes I feel so discouraged and beaten down. Why is this happening still? Again?
