It's All About Control

One of the hazards of being a news junkie and a former news reporter is that I know where to look for stuff. Today I spent time looking through the more than 1,000 bills that the Virginia Legislature will look at over the next 60 days.

This one stood out:

HB 217 Physicians; informed consent, disclosure of certain info. prior to hysterectomy or oophorectomy.

Introduced by: Robert D. Orrock, Sr. | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Physicians; informed consent; disclosure of certain information prior to hysterectomy or oophorectomy. Requires physicians to obtain informed consent from a patient prior to performing a hysterectomy or oophorectomy. Prior to obtaining informed consent, physicians must inform the patient of the patient's freedom to withhold or withdraw consent, refer the patient to the Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services (HERS) Foundation, and provide the patient with anatomical diagrams relevant to the procedure. The bill allows physicians to forego obtaining informed consent when a hysterectomy or oophorectomy is performed in a life-threatening emergency situation.

Here's the bill:

HOUSE BILL NO. 217Offered January 10, 2024Prefiled January 4, 2024

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-2971.2, relating to physicians; informed consent; disclosure of certain information prior to hysterectomy or oophorectomy.

----------Patron-- Orrock----------Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 54.1-2971.2 as follows:

§ 54.1-2971.2. Informed consent for hysterectomy and oophorectomy procedures.

A. Except as provided in subsection C, before a physician performs a hysterectomy or an oophorectomy, the physician shall obtain oral and written informed consent from the patient. The informed consent procedure must ensure that, at least two weeks before the patient signs the consent form, the patient is provided with:

1. Notice that the patient is free to withhold or withdraw consent to the procedure at any time before the hysterectomy or oophorectomy without affecting the patient's right to future care or treatment and without loss or withdrawal of any state or federally funded program benefits to which the patient might be otherwise entitled.

2. Referral to the Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services (HERS) Foundation and the HERS website.

3. A color copy of the following diagrams:

a. The female pelvic organs.

b. Supporting structures of the female pelvic organs.

c. Nerve supply to the uterus and ovaries.

d. Arteries and veins that provide blood supply to the female pelvic organs.

B. The patient shall sign a written statement before the hysterectomy or oophorectomy is performed indicating that the patient read and understood the information provided under subsection A and that the patient's attending physician and surgeon, or the attending physician's and surgeon's designee or designees, discussed this information with the patient. The statement must indicate that the patient's attending physician or the physician's designee advised the patient that the hysterectomy or oophorectomy will render the patient permanently sterile and incapable of having children.

C. The informed consent procedure under this section shall not be required when the hysterectomy or oophorectomy is performed in a life-threatening emergency situation in which the attending physician determines prior written informed consent is not possible.

The member of the legislature who introduced this bill is, of course, a Republican. The HERS website is anti-hysterectomy. I'm not saying every woman should have a hysterectomy, but I sure don't think there are hordes of women knocking on the doors of gynecologists asking for hysterectomies. Forcing women to view this website, which I have briefly reviewed and found to be deficit in information and certainly partisan, is all about control. I sure don't see legislature saying that men who want vasectomies or need a prostrate surgery or something have to go sign consent forms and view pictures of their anatomy before the procedure can take place.

I looked at the section on endometriosis, since that is what I had. The website offers no solutions for endometriosis except menopause. Was I to have suffered for 20 more years? I was in so much pain from my endometriosis that I couldn't function. Until I had my hysterectomy, and the pain was gone, I had no idea how bad the pain was. I don't know how I managed to even get out of bed, considering what I was living with.
Sure, now I am having additional problems from scar tissue and I'm almost back to where I was 30 years ago following that botched gallbladder surgery in 2013. Yes, some of that is related to the hysterectomy, but it's also related to the endometriosis and the vast amount of scarring I had. But I am grateful for the 20 years I had without so much pain, and if I must go on living with pain now, then that's my lot in life.

But at least I had the 20 years of no pain, and that's something I am grateful for.

And by the way, this should be a decision between a woman and her doctor. Why the hell is the state even trying to dictate what a woman does or doesn't do with her ovaries?