House votes to bar invasive patient exams without consent

      The Missouri House has voted unanimously to end the practice of performing certain invasive medical exams on patients who are unconscious and have not given consent. 

      Legislators learned that in Missouri and elsewhere, medical students and residents in teaching hospitals are allowed and even instructed to perform anal, prostate, or pelvic exams on unconscious patients as part of their instruction. 

“That’s a really bad practice because it’s not a good way of teaching students, but it’s also incredibly traumatic and harmful for that patient, to know that they could have been violated while they were unconscious,” said Matthew Huffman with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Representative Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove) agrees and she sponsors House Bill 283, which would require informed consent from the patient or someone authorized to make decisions for them, unless the exam is deemed necessary for diagnostic purposes, or for the collection of evidence when a crime is suspected and the patient cannot give consent for medical reasons.  If an exam is performed the patient would have to be notified. 

      “This bill is aimed at making sure that those who are survivors of trauma don’t have to experience further trauma as they go seek healthcare from their provider,” said Kelly.  “I want to make sure that sexual assault survivors can confidently walk into their doctor’s office and know that they are empowered to be in control of the process and that there are no surprises.  I have seen firsthand how important that is to strengthen the individual.”

      Huffman explained that this issue is particularly important for the people his organization works to protect.

      “The harm a survivor may feel is retriggering for the simple fact that we know survivors of sexual violence have felt a loss of their own bodily autonomy, and it can be retriggering to find out that someone performed an exam on you while you were unconscious without you being able to give specific consent.”

      Kelly said she has seen what Huffman is talking about through her daughter, who has given Kelly permission to speak publicly about her experience and encouraged her to pursue related policy.   

“She is someone who has dealt with the unfortunate situation of being a victim of sexual assault … we all need healthcare, right?  Someone who is a victim of assault, that’s a paramount kind of subconscious concern is, ‘Okay, am I going to be safe?  Am I going to be in control of this situation?’” 

      Both Kelly and Huffman say whether this bill becomes law this year, they hope it will help call attention to what has been happening to some patients and what people can do now.  They encourage people to ask questions when visiting a medical practitioner. 

      “I would hope that an individual who might … feel like they’re not getting full disclosure or they feel like they have questions, I hope he or she will raise their hand and say, ‘I have some questions.  What are we going to do here today?  There’s not going to be any surprises, right?  Walk me through what’s going to happen once I go under anesthesia,” said Kelly.  “That’s what I would hope, is that people feel empowered to hold up their hand and say, ‘Hey, make sure that I understand what’s happening here, please.’”

      Huffman said what is as important as anything about this proposal, which has come up for several years now but has yet to reach the governor, is that it’s made people aware that these incidents are happening.

      “As soon as we started talking to people about it, everyone’s jaw immediately drops open [as if to say] how is this a thing that could even still be occurring and why have I never heard about it?  So that’s why we really wanted to bring a lot of attention to the issue because once people know that it’s a thing they absolutely want to make sure that it’s no longer a practice that can happen.”

      Representative Patty Lewis (D-Kansas City) was one of the legislators who expressed the surprise Huffman references, when HB 283 reached the House Floor.

“Last year was when I was first made aware of this practice, and I worked in academic, teaching hospitals and wasn’t aware that was going on.  Quite frankly I was shocked … is this really, really happening?”

      Huffman said what is not known is how often such instances are occurring, largely because they aren’t always reported.

“For anyone who has experienced this, they become aware of it after the fact, and that can be a really traumatic thing to want to speak openly about.”

      HB 283 was sent to the Senate on a 157-0 vote and awaits action in that chamber.  A similar measure has been advancing through the Senate.

Production note: some of Rep. Kelly’s audio was overmodulated and not fit for air, so it is quoted here but not linked.