COLUMN
Let’s Say it Plainly: Pelvic Exams Without Consent Are Rape
Women’s bodies are up for grabs, even at the doctor’s office
Two months ago I had surgery to fix a broken nose, and I was downright panicked about going under anesthesia. I hated the idea of being put out and of not being in control. It was terrifying. A few hours after I woke up, I noticed that my upper arms had some small bruises on them — probably from being readjusted during surgery. I was fine, but it was strange to think about being moved around while I was completely unconscious. When you’re under anesthesia, you’re at your most vulnerable; you have to trust that the doctors surrounding you are treating you with respect and care.
That’s part of the reason stories of medical students performing pelvic exams on unconscious patients without their permission are so horrific.
Over the last few years, women and lawmakers have been raising the alarm on the practice, noting that it’s legal in most states to give a woman under anesthesia a pap smear or penetrate her without consent. The issue was the subject of a big investigation by New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg last week, who talked with women who were shocked and traumatized to wake from surgery to find that they had been penetrated without their knowledge…
