Hershey (Harshita) Sarambale, Class of 2022
In the news almost everyday, individuals throughout America and other countries hear about social justice movements aiming to increase awareness of or solve political and social issues. This year, female empowerment has reached an all time high with movements such as #MeToo or the Women’s March movement. Females from all aspects of society such as the musicians, actresses, athletes, and politicians, have joined in by sharing their experiences and promoting their stories. However, one large group still has yet to speak their mind about the injustices they face: female patients. It has recently come to attention that females undergoing obstetric or gynecologic procedures that require anesthesia are experiencing non-consensual pelvic exams by attending physicians, residents, and medical students.
A pelvic exam is a common procedure in many patient visits to the gynecologists which allows the medical practitioner to feel for the anatomy of the patient’s abdomen. The practitioner “[places] two fingers into the vagina while a second hand is placed on the patient’s abdomen to feel for ovaries, masses, and uterine mobility” (Tsai). The exam is not uncommon in medical practices as patients often consent to pelvic exams. The problem of morality comes into play in the ambiguity of what they are exactly consenting to.
There are many situations where OB/GYN (obstetrics/gynecologist) patients are being deceived by their medical providers. The first, and most extreme situation to consider is when the patient does not give any consent for any doctor to give them a pelvic exam. While this case is not very common, it is still important to understand that this would be considered rape. Rape, as defined by the FBI, is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with anybody part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim” (Sullivan, Laura). If the patient gives no consent and the doctor inserts two fingers inside the vaginal cavity of said patient, it will be considered rape. This could apply to nonconsensual rectal exams or both female and male patients as well. While this scenario is almost unheard of today, a few incidents still occur, such as a comatose patient giving birth after being raped by nurses (McDonell-Parry).
The second case is when patients sign a consent form stating that other medical practitioners can assist with the surgery as necessary. This statement takes into consideration attending physicians, residents, and surgical nurses who have not necessarily taken time to introduce themselves to the patient. However, this contract does not include medical students as they are not legal, licensed professionals (Tsai). Regardless, often times, teaching physicians allow their students to perform the pelvic exam without notifying the patient of such practices. This, also, would be qualified as rape since the patient did not consent to having medical students inserting fingers into their vaginal cavities.
Finally, some teaching physicians believe they can alleviate their unethical practice of allowing students to conduct pelvic exams by having the medical students introduce themselves. They advise the medical student to meet the patient and provide a “vague statement of [their] role in the procedure, without mentioning a pelvic examination” (Friesen). Even in this situation, they have not received specific consent to perform the examination and thus, could also be accused of rape. Furthermore, some also believe that females give up bodily autonomy when the consent to be cared for at a teaching hospital.
Throughout time, many states have made progress in abolishing this practice; in 2019, New York, Maryland, Utah, and Delaware have made it illegal to give nonconsensual exams accounting for only 10 out of the 50 states (“Pelvic Exams”). Legislature has been passed in 17 additional states. While there is much opposition to such laws, they also have garnered a tremendous amount of support. By banning such illegal practices, hospitals can culminate a safe environment for female patients to receive critical care and doctors will rest easy knowing that their hard earned medical degree will not be used for such criminal behavior. Creating such legislature will add to the work of countless social justice warriors fighting for gender equality.
References
Friesen, Phoebe. “Educational Pelvic Exams on Anesthetized Women: Why Consent Matters.”
Bioethics, vol. 32, no. 5, 2018, pp. 298–307., doi:10.1111/bioe.12441.
Lange, Katie. “USNS Comfort: How the Hospital Ship Helps During Disasters.” DoDLive, DoDLive, 5 Dec. 2017, https://www.dodlive.mil/2017/10/03/usns-comfort-how-the-hospital-ship-helps-during-disasters/.
McDonell-Parry, Amelia. “Woman in 14-Year Coma Gives Birth in Arizona.” Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/coma-birth-woman-arisona-hacienda-healthcare-776902/.
“Pelvic Exams.” The Epstein Health Law and Policy Program, https://www.epsteinprogram.com/pelvic-exams.
Sullivan, Katharine T., and Laura L. Rogers. “An Updated Definition of Rape.” The United States Department of Justice, 7 Apr. 2017, https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/updated-definition-rape.
“Training Medical Students to Perform Pelvic and Rectal Exams.” Medical Justice, 18 Mar. 2019, https://medicaljustice.com/training-medical-students-to-perform-pelvic-and-rectal-exams/.
Tsai, Jennifer. “Medical Students Regularly Practice Pelvic Exams on Unconscious Patients. Should They?” ELLE, 26 June 2019, https://www.elle.com/life-love/a28125604/nonconsensual-pelvic-exams-teaching-hospitals/.
A pelvic exam is a common procedure in many patient visits to the gynecologists which allows the medical practitioner to feel for the anatomy of the patient’s abdomen. The practitioner “[places] two fingers into the vagina while a second hand is placed on the patient’s abdomen to feel for ovaries, masses, and uterine mobility” (Tsai). The exam is not uncommon in medical practices as patients often consent to pelvic exams. The problem of morality comes into play in the ambiguity of what they are exactly consenting to.
There are many situations where OB/GYN (obstetrics/gynecologist) patients are being deceived by their medical providers. The first, and most extreme situation to consider is when the patient does not give any consent for any doctor to give them a pelvic exam. While this case is not very common, it is still important to understand that this would be considered rape. Rape, as defined by the FBI, is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with anybody part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim” (Sullivan, Laura). If the patient gives no consent and the doctor inserts two fingers inside the vaginal cavity of said patient, it will be considered rape. This could apply to nonconsensual rectal exams or both female and male patients as well. While this scenario is almost unheard of today, a few incidents still occur, such as a comatose patient giving birth after being raped by nurses (McDonell-Parry).
The second case is when patients sign a consent form stating that other medical practitioners can assist with the surgery as necessary. This statement takes into consideration attending physicians, residents, and surgical nurses who have not necessarily taken time to introduce themselves to the patient. However, this contract does not include medical students as they are not legal, licensed professionals (Tsai). Regardless, often times, teaching physicians allow their students to perform the pelvic exam without notifying the patient of such practices. This, also, would be qualified as rape since the patient did not consent to having medical students inserting fingers into their vaginal cavities.
Finally, some teaching physicians believe they can alleviate their unethical practice of allowing students to conduct pelvic exams by having the medical students introduce themselves. They advise the medical student to meet the patient and provide a “vague statement of [their] role in the procedure, without mentioning a pelvic examination” (Friesen). Even in this situation, they have not received specific consent to perform the examination and thus, could also be accused of rape. Furthermore, some also believe that females give up bodily autonomy when the consent to be cared for at a teaching hospital.
Throughout time, many states have made progress in abolishing this practice; in 2019, New York, Maryland, Utah, and Delaware have made it illegal to give nonconsensual exams accounting for only 10 out of the 50 states (“Pelvic Exams”). Legislature has been passed in 17 additional states. While there is much opposition to such laws, they also have garnered a tremendous amount of support. By banning such illegal practices, hospitals can culminate a safe environment for female patients to receive critical care and doctors will rest easy knowing that their hard earned medical degree will not be used for such criminal behavior. Creating such legislature will add to the work of countless social justice warriors fighting for gender equality.
References
Friesen, Phoebe. “Educational Pelvic Exams on Anesthetized Women: Why Consent Matters.”
Bioethics, vol. 32, no. 5, 2018, pp. 298–307., doi:10.1111/bioe.12441.
Lange, Katie. “USNS Comfort: How the Hospital Ship Helps During Disasters.” DoDLive, DoDLive, 5 Dec. 2017, https://www.dodlive.mil/2017/10/03/usns-comfort-how-the-hospital-ship-helps-during-disasters/.
McDonell-Parry, Amelia. “Woman in 14-Year Coma Gives Birth in Arizona.” Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/coma-birth-woman-arisona-hacienda-healthcare-776902/.
“Pelvic Exams.” The Epstein Health Law and Policy Program, https://www.epsteinprogram.com/pelvic-exams.
Sullivan, Katharine T., and Laura L. Rogers. “An Updated Definition of Rape.” The United States Department of Justice, 7 Apr. 2017, https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/updated-definition-rape.
“Training Medical Students to Perform Pelvic and Rectal Exams.” Medical Justice, 18 Mar. 2019, https://medicaljustice.com/training-medical-students-to-perform-pelvic-and-rectal-exams/.
Tsai, Jennifer. “Medical Students Regularly Practice Pelvic Exams on Unconscious Patients. Should They?” ELLE, 26 June 2019, https://www.elle.com/life-love/a28125604/nonconsensual-pelvic-exams-teaching-hospitals/.
Proudly powered by Weebly