Senator Hassan Applauds Biden Administration’s Action to Prevent Non-Consensual Pelvic Exams

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, applauded new guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to crack down on the practice of doctors or medical students conducting non-consensual pelvic exams while patients are unconscious. In 2020, following a major New York Times investigation into the practice, Senator Hassan pushed leading medical organizations for answers on the protocols they had in place before surgery, the impact of state legislation that bans the practice, and how the organizations define consent.

“All patients should be fully informed and provide consent for medical procedures that are performed on them, and that is especially true for sensitive procedures like pelvic exams,” said Senator Hassan. “I am glad to see that the Department of Health and Human Services is acting to protect people by ensuring that hospitals are obtaining informed consent before conducting pelvic exams, including for patients who are being put under anesthesia.”

More information about the new guidance released by the Department of Health and Human Services is available here.

In 2020, Senator Hassan asked a series of questions to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and the Association for Surgical Education about their guidelines related to pelvic examinations and consent. The full text of her letter is available here.

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