Newly proposed sexual assault prevention bills in New York could help protect people from assault by doctors.

In just six states around the country, New York being one of them, medical practitioners do not have to pass background checks to receive a license. This can expose patients to doctors who have a criminal background, including those who have been accused of sexual assault.

Now, a new bill proposes that doctors in New York be required to pass background checks to receive a license to practice. Another bill aims to further protect patients by requiring doctors to provide a written notice to patients if the doctor is undergoing legal proceedings, if they are on probation, or if their being disciplined by the state, says CBS News. 

Proponents say these proposed laws could help protect patients from sexual assault and other violence at the hands of doctors.

Events Behind the Proposed Law

Unfortunately, sexual assault at the hands of a doctor is not unheard of. These sexual assault prevention bills were reportedly inspired by a lawsuit against a doctor at Columbia University accused of sexually abusing pregnant women.

Seventeen women filed a lawsuit against Columbia University and its associated hospitals, saying that they were sexually assaulted by Dr. Robert Hadden, an obstetrician who was employed by the university. According to the women, the university and the hospitals committed fraud by covering up Hadden’s history of what they say is over 20 years of sexual abuse, and were negligent in not taking action to prevent it.

Allegedly, Hadden sexually assaulted the women in a number of ways “all under the guise of performing medical examinations,” says CBS News. 

The bills designed to protect patients from sexual assault by doctors was presented by new York State Assemblymember Aravella Simotas, along with five other bills aimed at enabling survivors of sexual abuse and harassment to seek justice, according to the National Herald. 

CBS notes that Simotas says that the legislation was inspired by testimony given by Marissa Hoechstetter, one of the women who accused Hadene of sexual assault.

Of the bill, Hoechstetter said that “as a survivor of sexual assault by by OB/GYN while I was pregnant, this package of bills represents a huge step forward towards insuring that that happened to me won’t happen to other patients.”

In New York, other legal change has attempted to help victims of sexual abuse seek justice. New York recently passed the Child Victims Act, a law that expands the statutory limitations period for lawsuits concerning child sexual abuse, giving survivors the chance to sue anytime before they turn 55. Previously, the statute of limitations prevented many victims of assault from seeking justice.

With this new law and the proposed new sexual assault prevention bills, victims of sexual assault in New York may have more opportunities to protect themselves and seek justice.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.