Not just “bodies with vaginas”: A Kantian defense of pelvic exam consent laws
Medical students commonly learn how to administer pelvic exams by practicing on unconscious patients, often without first obtaining explicit consent from patients to do so. While 21 states currently have laws that require teaching hospitals to obtain consent from patients to participate in this educ...
| Published in: | Bioethics |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2022
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| In: |
Bioethics
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| RelBib Classification: | NCH Medical ethics VA Philosophy XA Law |
| Further subjects: | B
Informed Consent
B Women's Health B Autonomy B pelvic exams B Kantian ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Medical students commonly learn how to administer pelvic exams by practicing on unconscious patients, often without first obtaining explicit consent from patients to do so. While 21 states currently have laws that require teaching hospitals to obtain consent from patients to participate in this educational experience, opposition from the medical community has stymied legislative progress. In this paper, I respond to the two most common reasons offered to oppose the legislation, which appeal to (1) the educational benefits of these exams or (2) protecting institutional autonomy. Kantian ideas about autonomy help to illuminate the problematic ways in which these arguments supplant the importance of women's choices over how their bodies are used while seeking medical treatment. Ultimately, neither argument offers sufficient reason to oppose laws that require explicit consent before administering training pelvic exams. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-8519 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/bioe.13084 |