I didn't consent to this

A therapist sexual assault [ed] a 26-year-old woman

Convinced her he could help her respiratory problems

She suffered from respiratory problems since childhood

He then took advantage of a situation that she never understood

She would undergo any medical test necessary

And through immoral means and lost in trust the man would become her adversary

Richard Quinlan conducted a "cardio-neurological respiratory" test

Involved examining her pelvic region

She wanted to speak to her physician

But his next actions would prove to ignore his patient's decision

Quinlan said her physician was not available

The test was necessary

She consented

If she was able to contact her physician it could've been prevented

When asked about the "cardio" portion of the examination

He told her, "Oh, I forgot."

Then she knew that he wasn't as well meant as she thought

I believed the (tests) were in my best interest

I believed they were proper medical exams

Quinlan's attorneys said the victim should have known better than to submit to the test

I chose to do my poem on this article because it denotes how physicians took advantage of women by performing unconsented pelvic examinations years ago as they do today. What we see today is teaching hospitals allowing medical students to perform pelvic examinations on women who are under anesthesia and are unable to consent. Physicians are not required to obtain explicit consent for the procedure, so majority of the time, women are left unaware that they even received one. Sadly, those performing these examinations see nothing wrong with it. We shouldn’t treat women's bodies as someone's property and that extends to medicine.

In this instance, referring back to the article, a respiratory therapist sexually assualted a patient under the guise of him attempting to help her. Knowing her medical history, he knew how desperate she was to end her respiratory problems, and he used it to his advantage. He made up a procedure that he didn’t even follow through with, he lied to the patient about the examination helping her respiratory problems, and he denied her the opportunity to speak to her physician. My poem illustrates how the patient was clearly assulted and how the physican is completly at fault but despite all that, she is still somehow still at fault becuase women should always know better.

References

Goldberg, E. (2020, February 19). She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/health/pelvic-medical-exam-unconscious.html

Wilson, T. (1989, Nov 21). Pelvic exam described at sexual assault trial: [NORTH SPORTS FINAL, C Edition]. Chicago Tribune (Pre-1997 Fulltext)http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/pelvic-exam-described-at-sexual-assault-trial/docview/282749388/se-2?accountid=4485