Justice Department to Pay Up for FBI’s Bungling of Nassar Case

You can read my previous posts about Larry Nassar here and here.Yesterday, news broke that the Justice Department has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a case against Dr. Larry Nassar who sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts - male and female. The FBI failed to respond with the “utmost seriousness and urgency that the…

Article: “Medical Necessity and Consent for Intimate Procedures” (2023)

I was pleased to come across this scholarly paper recently because it is encouraging to see this topic continue to receive attention, and that focus seems to be expanding beyond non-consensual pelvic exams. The thesis of the paper is that The permissibility of [intervening into a patient’s genitalia] in the absence of a relevant medical…

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month: Redefining Sexual Abuse to be More Inclusive of Meducal Harm

Sexual assault and sexual abuse both fall under the umbrella of sexual violence. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), along with Federal and state laws and institutional policies, sexual violence includes a variety of acts, one of which is unwanted sexual contact/touching. Of course, the medical community vehemently denies that their actions…

New Federal Guidance on Informed Consent for Pelvic and Other Intimate Exams

I've talked about pelvic/intimate exams before.Today, the Department of Health and Human Services released new guidelines "to reiterate and provide clarity regarding hospital requirements for informed consent from patients as it relates to medical professionals performing sensitive examinations, particularly on patients under anesthesia."Of note, part of the letter contains the following: It is critically important…

Doctor Charged with Sexually Assaulting Male Patients

This past September 2023, news outlets reported that California doctor William Thompson was charged with sexually assaulting male patients. According to the article, the incidents occurred "under the guise that the assaults were part of necessary medical exams." As much as it pains me to see cases like this, I'm glad that society is beginning…