This was recently brought to my attention and I wanted to share it with you:
It is totally legal, in certain states, for doctors and med students to practice pelvic exams on patients who are under anesthesia for unrelated surgeries.
I have no idea who on earth thought this was ok, but like the “husband stitch,” if we don’t bring these issues to light and demand they stop, they will go on.
“It is very common for teaching hospitals around the world to have med students ‘practice’ performing pelvic exams on a surgical patient while they are under anesthesia without their consent, or even knowledge. According to Medscape, oftentimes, multiple med students will practice on the same patient. In the US, non-consensual pelvic exams are legal in every state besides Hawaii, California, Illinois, and Virginia.”1
Phoebe Friesen, a medical researcher, found that according to a 2005 study at University of Oklahoma “a large majority of medical students had given pelvic exams to gynecologic surgery patients who were under anesthesia, and that in nearly three-quarters of these cases the women had not consented to the exam.”2 Not surprisingly, Friesen also found that many women said they would feel “physically assaulted” if they were given the ability to consent to such a practice. And a 2007 study done in Canada found that “72 percent of med students admitted to having done a pelvic exam on an anesthetized patient.”3
The only way to address this issue is to label it what it is: molestation and sexual abuse. If there is a medical need to practice, then consent must be given. Period.
In 2010, the documentary “At Your Cervix” and an accompanying petition began with little fanfare. However, thanks to the #metoo movement this disgusting practice is coming to light again. Please help us by forwarding this story to your family and friends and putting it on your Facebook wall. It needs to get more attention so we can force doctors and hospitals to stop.
