2019 Bills

SB 188: Prohibiting Pelvic Examinations on Sedated or Unconscious Women

This bill passed the Senate and House unanimously. 

Libertas Institute supports this bill

Staff review of this legislation finds that it is aligned with our principles and merits support.

A recent Deseret News story outraged its readers by highlighting the practice by some doctors of allowing medical students to practice pelvic examinations on a sedated or unconscious woman without her knowledge or prior consent.

Senator Dan McCay is sponsoring Senate Bill 188 to prohibit this practice.

The bill outlines a procedure by which an informed patient can provide consent for this type of educational practice. Otherwise, the procedure would be deemed non-consensual and therefore subject to available remedies for patients who are acted upon by a medical provider without consent.

While the educational process is important for students to gain direct experience in a real world setting, at no time should they perform a procedure or examination without the consent of the patient.