PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania has joined 20 other states in banning invasive medical exams on patients while under anesthesia.
In Pennsylvania, medical students are allowed to perform pelvic, prostate or rectal exams on unconscious patients for training purposes. State Representative Liz Fiedler said she honestly did not believe it when a constituent told her about this.
“Definitely one of the first things I said was, ‘Are you sure this is really happening?’ because it seemed so outrageous,” Fiedler said.
A 2019 survey found 92% of medical students had performed these exams on unconscious patients and nearly ⅔ of them did not have prior consent.
State Senator Marie Collett of Montgomery County is a nurse, so she understands the importance of training on real patients but says there are limits.
“Medical training should never come at the expense of a patient’s right to control their own body and to consent to such treatment,” Collett said.
The bill Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law last week requires patient consent before any exams can be conducted. It passed both houses of the legislature unanimously — an unusual consensus for Harrisburg.
Legislators say requiring consent will restore dignity to patients and integrity to medical professionals.