Non-Consensual Pelvic & Genital Exams and Intimate Procedures
While it is encouraging that non-consensual pelvic exams have garnered a great deal of attention the past few years, other intimate procedures performed without explicit consent deserve the same scrutiny.
History of Pelvic Exam Consent Laws
Numerous women who received pelvic exams without their knowledge or consent, including Ashley Weitz who underwent an unnecessary pelvic exam against her wishes while she was sedated (Source: She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway. - The New York Times). Additionally, some medical students who were upset that they were asked to perform pelvic exams without consent objected because they felt this was unethical. All of these individuals – harmed patients and medical students alike – demonstrated bravery in speaking out against these unethical practices and played a vital role in getting laws passed protecting patients from non-consensual intimate exams.
The two paragraphs highlighted below in this article: Ohio does not require consent for pelvic exams on unconscious patients are very disturbing:
No one tracks how many pelvic exams are performed without patient consent. It is also difficult to determine how often they happen because patients are unaware the exams occurred.
However, a recently published study by The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, estimated as many 3.6 million U.S. women and men may have received an intimate exam without their consent within the past five years.
This reveals the truth that the practice of routinely subjecting women to pelvic exams under anesthesia and without their explicit consent has been occurring for many years.
Everyone is encouraged to read this article, Pelvic Exam Consent Forms, that addresses the problematic issue of generalized pelvic exam consent forms. It is best to customize these documents.
Other Intimate Procedures Performed Without Consent
While it is encouraging that an increasing number of states have statutes banning non-consensual pelvic exams, thus criminalizing this practice as a form of sexual assault, these laws fail to address other intimately invasive procedures performed without a patient’s knowledge or consent, which should never be done. These laws need to be modified to require expressed consent for all intimate procedures, including breast, genital, and prostate exams, in addition to other intimate tasks such as inserting urinary catheters, shaving the groin / pubic area, placing grounding pads on the buttocks, and removing the gown and underwear resulting in exposure of private areas. It is important to address these intimate boundary violations because is not just women who experience harm from non-consensual pelvic exams in medical settings as demonstrated from these articles: Not Just Non-Consensual Pelvic Exams | Voices in Bioethics and The Legal and Ethical Imperative of Explicit Consent in Intimate Medical Procedures - American Institute of Healthcare Compliance.
We at Medical Patient Modesty have received many troubling cases from patients who never consented to intimate procedures and tasks. Many of those patients have PTSD. Sadly, it leads some to avoid medical care, including potentially lifesaving screenings and procedures in the future.
Patients who are under general anesthesia or heavily sedated are extremely vulnerable and defenseless since they are unable to witness procedures and ensure their wishes and values are being respected and honored. All patients have the right to refuse intimate procedures.
Here are some cases we have received that highlight why the pelvic exam law should be modified to include other intimate procedures or tasks:
1) A patient had his gown and underwear removed after he was put under anesthesia for surgery on his hand.
2) A patient was horrified to learn that hospital staff had removed the disposable underwear they had given him and shaved his groin and lower abdomen while he was sedated for a venous ablation procedure that involved the surgeon making incisions around the knee only. At many other facilities, the groin and pubic areas for this type of procedure are not shaved. He was also livid to learn afterwards that his procedure is more commonly performed in an office setting with a local anesthetic instead of in an operating room with sedation. But he was never presented with this option. Check out his blog, #MedicalMeToo – A Venous Ablation, Sexual Abuse, and the Systems that Failed Me (and will fail you, too).
3) A patient who underwent neck surgery was surprised to discover that a urinary catheter was inserted.
Medical professionals are rarely – if
ever – held accountable for performing unnecessary intimate procedures
or without explicit consent. For example, a female otolaryngologist, Dr.
Twana Sparks, who performed genital exams and drew images on the bodies
of anesthetized patients without their knowledge or consent was allowed
to retain her medical license and continue practicing by the New Mexico
Medical Board in 2009. This doctor’s license should have at least
been suspended because this was sexual abuse. There is no reason for otolaryngologists
to ever access any intimate body parts since their job is focused on ear,
nose, and throat only. This example highlights why so many medical
professionals continue to perform intimate procedures and tasks without
consent. Until we see punishment in the form of steep fines, prison
time, and the suspension of medical licenses, medical professionals will
continue to subject their patients to intimate procedures without their
knowledge or consent.
Resources about Non-Consensual Intimate Procedures:
Not just “bodies with vaginas”: A Kantian defense of pelvic exam consent laws
Comply with Privacy Rights to Avoid Unconsented Intimate Exams
Pelvic Exams without Consent: Medical Malpractice Suit?
Students Perform Pelvic Exams Without Consent
Conversations We Shouldn’t Still Be Having: Pelvic Exams Under Anesthesia
Using tort law to secure patient dignity