Two New York state lawmakers are sponsoring legislation to ban doctors from “performing or supervising virginity examinations” after rapper T.I. said he demands a gynecologist check his daughter’s hymen to verify his daughter’s virgin status.
Here’s text of the New York State Senate Bill S6897, sponsored by state Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud. Here is its state Assembly corollary, sponsored by state Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and co-sponsored by Rick Gottfried, Andrew Hevesi, and Walter T. Mosley.
In the Senate bill’s justification memo, Persaud’s bill notes that “virginity” is not a medical term but a social construct used to further discriminate against women and girls. “These examinations are not only a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, but in cases of rape can cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimization,” according to the memo. “Many women suffer from adverse short- and long-term physical, psychological and social consequences of this practice. This includes anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.”
The bill says disregarding this ban “will be considered an act of professional misconduct” by the medical provider, and could be charged with the class D felony of first-degree sexual abuse.
“It’s misogynistic, it’s appalling,” Assemblywoman Solages said in an interview with The New York Post. “I was horrified to see this was happening. If a celebrity can impose his power to ensure his 18-year-old daughter gets checked, imagine what can be done in households across New York state?”
Persuad and Solages previously introduced legislation to ban non-consensual pelvic exams.