Pelvic exams performed without the consent of patients have spurred a variety of legislation that aims to put an end to the practice, according to an article in the ABA Journal. Pelvic exams are often performed on unconscious women, typically by medical students in teaching hospitals. But some institutions don’t obtain fully informed consent for the procedures, either by not asking at all, or by believing it’s enough to say students might be involved in the care, or by burying it in a general consent form. 

“It seems like it should be an easy question to resolve. Women are performing a valuable service,” says Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson, who has followed the issue for many years. “But the question is whether you should have to ask, and I think the answer is ‘yes.’ ”

Read the full article at abajournal.com.