by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
The Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would forbid health care providers and students from performing a pelvic examination on an unconscious or anesthetized patient.
“This bill is necessary to ensure patients in Idaho, especially survivors of sexual violence, are not re-traumatized by invasive examinations that are conducted without their consent for purposes that are not medically necessary,” said Mollie Montague on behalf of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, is sponsoring House Bill 526. She carried a similar bill last session which passed the House unanimously. She said this version addresses an issue the Senate found in the prior bill, which included an exception for collecting evidence of a sex crime.
“To collect evidence in the state of Idaho… we do not conduct exams of unconscious individuals that were suspected of being a victim of a sex crime,” Green said. “And thus, we just completely removed that, and it stands pretty straightforward.”
HB 526 now heads to the House floor for a vote. It must also pass the Senate to become law.
Logan Finney | Associate Producer
Logan Finney is a North Idaho native with a passion for media production and boring government meetings. He grew up skiing, hunting and hiking in the mountains of Bonner County and has maintained a lifelong interest in the state’s geography, history and politics. Logan joined the Idaho Reports team in 2020 as a legislative session intern and stayed to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired as an associate producer in 2021 and they haven’t been able to get rid of him since.