Bills heard in a House committee today would require written parental consent and another care provider in the room before a minor can undergo certain intimate treatments.
The legislation responds to sex abuse committed by former Michigan State University athletics Doctor Larry Nassar during exams.
Stephanie Glidden is with the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.
She says a requirement that doctors explain why they need to perform certain treatments is an important part of the package.
“Often patients are at the mercy of their care providers’ expertise. They assume because the doctor says this is going to happen that it must. It is our hope that the reporting requirement will remind everyone involved that true consent must include understanding.”
There are over a dozen bills to address the issue currently making their way through the Legislature.
