ONTD Political

Viagra: "The Drug for Life"

12:52 am - 05/02/2012
Minnesota Senator Who Sponsored Vetoed Anti-Abortion Pill Bill Calls Viagra A ‘Drug For Life’

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has vetoed an anti-abortion bill that would have required a doctor to be present for a woman to take the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, effectively banning “tele-med” abortions and disproportionately affecting women in rural communities. Dayton wrote in his veto letter that patient safety should always be a concern, but “a veto is warranted on legislation because it is driven by a specific political ideology rather than a broad-based concern for protecting all patients.”

Indeed, during debate about the legislation, a Democratic state senator asked why RU-486 should be regulated instead of erectile dysfunction medication. Sen. Paul Gazelka (R), the bill’s sponsor, said Viagra is a “wonderful drug” that “helps create life.” RH Reality Check’s Robin Marty asked Gazelka to clarify his comments about Viagra, and he said in response:

"comparing Viagra to RU-486 was comparing apples and oranges or more like comparing life and death. Viagra is a wonderful medical advancement in that can help couples with sexual disfunction issues…it can even help in producing life. RU486 always destroys life by taking the life of the unborn child."

Gazelka did not respond to Marty’s questions about whether he would sponsor a bill to collect information about men who are prescribed Viagra, similar to “databases created in various other states to gather information on women who obtain abortions.”

Gazelka’s bill and his ensuing comments about Viagra highlight the unfair burden placed on women who seek abortions and related health care. State regulations continue to add additional hurdles women must overcome to access abortions and contraception, while no similar measures block the availably of Viagra for men.

Source: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/01/474419/minnesota-state-senator-abortion-viagra/
riath 2nd-May-2012 11:53 am (UTC)
RU486 is not an abortion pill. There is no life in play when the woman takes the pill and if a pregnancy has already started then it will have no effect. But these are facts and I've never known these anti-abortion legislators to let little things like those stand in their way of making ridiculous statements.
confectionqueen 2nd-May-2012 01:02 pm (UTC)
Haven't some of them said something like "it's an abortion pill because it's removing the chance for life to happen" or some bullshit? Like you are intervening with nature because you were supposed to get pregnant and prevented it from happening. Which I think is an even worse line of reasoning.
kyra_neko_rei 2nd-May-2012 03:57 pm (UTC)
At such points one becomes tempted to view their god as a whiny toddler failing at something deliberately because he's pissed it isn't being done for him.
darsynia 2nd-May-2012 04:05 pm (UTC)
Hell, if I decide not to have sex on a night I know I'd be fertile, I'm removing the chance for life to happen!

NOT NOT NOT heading any farther down that line of thinking, heh. NOPE.
violetrose 2nd-May-2012 01:15 pm (UTC)

And honestly, for a medical abortion, there is no singular 'abortion pill'. You take two pills, one to terminate the embryo, and the other to make the uterus contract and expel the contents.
kyra_neko_rei 2nd-May-2012 03:24 pm (UTC)
You're thinking of Plan B.

He's talking about the drug used to induce medical abortions, which is called RU486.
riath 2nd-May-2012 03:27 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I just now realised that. I had a very late night and shouldn't comment when I'm half-asleep, lol. Also, I'm just so tired of these dumb ass arguments presented by anti-abortionists that they all have started to run together in my head.
kyra_neko_rei 2nd-May-2012 03:53 pm (UTC)
Ah. Yes. It happens. And you're not the only one either.

Besides, they've been deliberately mixing the two up ever since there were two of them on the market.
the_axel 2nd-May-2012 05:53 pm (UTC)
The 600mg dose of RU-486 is used to cause abortions up to 7 weeks.

the 10mg dose is prevents ovulation.

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