At the end of last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill from state Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, protecting women seeking fertility treatment and from unwanted pelvic exams.
Book introduced a proposal ensuring doctors cannot perform pelvic exams without a woman’s consent except for emergencies. The bill also makes inseminating a woman without her permission a crime.
Book’s proposal passed the state Senate without opposition. State Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach, had the companion measure in the House.
“The signing of this bill into law is a victory in the fight for women to have control over their own bodies,” Book said after DeSantis signed the bill into law.
“Women seeking fertility treatment in Florida will now be protected from a group of predatory physicians who commit selfish narcissistic acts; and pelvic exams will now require specific consent, except in cases of emergency, finally halting the wholly inappropriate practice of unapproved pelvic exams on unconscious women… where at best, these exams have been wrongful learning experiences for medical students or at worst, the equivalent of a sexual assault,” she added.
Author
Sarah Smith
November 25, 2020, 7:41 pm at 7:41 pm
It’s great to learn that there is a bill protecting women’s rights to decide when they want a pelvic exam or when they want to be inseminated. My husband and I have been talking about potentially going in for artificial insemination because we are having problems conceiving. I would like to meet with a gynecologist and figure out what our options are, so I will make sure that we find someone that follows this law.