They say you learn something new every day, and on some exceptional days on Twitter that really seems to be the case. If you filter out the pointless celebrity arguments, cat videos and endless #MondayMotivation posts, you might just stumble upon something genuinely horrifying.
Today we learned that in some US hospitals, medical students perform vaginal exams on unconscious patients, and it’s completely legal even though the patients haven’t consented – and have no knowledge of it happening.
Medical information site Healthline published an article by Misha Valencia on August 30, which detailed the horrific practice. Valencia writes that these exams are a common way to teach medical students how to perform pelvic exams, and the patients are not told that the exams will take place before they are put under sedation. She relays the story of Ashley Weitz who went into hospital in Utah with severe nausea and vomiting, was sedated, and then ‘woke up screaming when she saw a doctor performing a vaginal exam’.
And it’s not just in Utah – Valencia explains that the practice is legal in many US states. Two-thirds of medical students in Oklahoma reported being asked to perform pelvic exams on patients who hadn’t consented, as well as 90% of medical students in a survey conducted in Philadelphia.
No doubt equally horrified by this story, Rachael Denhollander the first woman to publicly accuse former USA gymnastics coach Larry Nassar, tweeted: ‘Did you know women are FREQUENTLY given pelvic exams by numerous students, without their knowledge or consent, while they are under anesthesia? One of the many silent battles women face just to be in charge of their own genitals’ with a link to the Healthline article. ‘Wait… WHAT?’ came Jameela Jamil’s reaction, which pretty much sums it up.
Jamil’s tweet has been shared by over 900 people at the time of writing, and the hundreds of comments beneath are full of people not only in shock, but terrified too.