2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
LRB-0105/1
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2023 SENATE BILL 127
March 14, 2023 - Introduced by Senators JACQUE, TAYLOR, COWLES, HESSELBEIN,
LARSON, ROYS, SPREITZER and WIRCH, cosponsored by Representatives
BRANDTJEN, ALLEN, ANDRACA, BARE, BEHNKE, BODDEN, EMERSON, JOERS,
MURSAU, ORTIZ-VELEZ, PALMERI, SUBECK, WICHGERS, MADISON, CLANCY and
SHANKLAND. Referred to Committee on Health.
1 AN ACT to create 50.373 of the statutes; relating to: requiring informed consent
2 before performing a pelvic examination on a patient who is under general
3 anesthesia or unconscious.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill requires hospitals to have and enforce a policy requiring written and
verbal informed consent to be obtained from a patient before a medical student, a
nursing student, any person providing nursing care, or any other person authorized
to perform pelvic examinations may perform a pelvic examination on a patient who
is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious. Under the bill, every hospital
must also inform medical students, nursing students, persons providing nursing
care, other persons authorized to perform pelvic examinations, and physicians
supervising any of these individuals of the informed consent policy and must take
appropriate action to discipline any individual who violates the policy or instructs
a medical student, a nursing student, or a person providing nursing care to conduct
an examination in violation of the policy.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
4 SECTION 1. 50.373 of the statutes is created to read:
 2023 - 2024 Legislature -2- LRB-0105/1
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SENATE BILL 127 SECTION 1
1 50.373 Informed consent for pelvic examinations. (1) In this section,
2 “nursing care” includes professional nursing, as defined in s. 441.001 (4), and
3 practical nursing, as defined in s. 441.001 (3).
4 (2) Every hospital shall have and enforce a policy that requires written and
5 verbal informed consent to be obtained from a patient before a medical student, a
6 nursing student, any person providing nursing care, or any other person authorized
7 to perform pelvic examinations may perform a pelvic examination on a patient who
8 is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious.
9 (3) Every hospital shall inform medical students, nursing students, persons
10 providing nursing care, any other person authorized to perform pelvic examinations,
11 and physicians supervising any of these individuals of the policy required under this
12 section and shall take appropriate action to discipline any individual who violates
13 the policy or instructs a medical student, a nursing student, any person providing
14 nursing care, or any other person authorized to perform pelvic examinations to
15 conduct an examination in violation of the policy.
16 (END)