Journalist: Sydni Callaway (OSU)
There are times during session in which serious legislation is presented to each chamber. This bill is one of those manners. Sen. Kai Jones (SE), originally presented a bill called the “Intimate Area Exam Act of 2025” to the Senate. This bill, also known as Senate Bill No. SE-001, aims to ensure that patients must consent to an intimate area exam, as well as prohibit health care professionals, medical students and those interning or in residency, from performing an exam on patients underneath anesthesia without written consent. This bill passed the Senate, and was brought to the House today for voting. Speaking with Jones, they shared some remarks with me on their legislation.
“The goal here is not to eliminate the process altogether because students need experience to become certified later on. It’s just to make sure that there is consent for what is being done to people’s bodies” said Jones when describing what their bill was about.
In the Senate, the bill went through the chamber at somewhat of an ease. “There wasn’t a huge amount of questions or concerns really brought up,” said Jones in describing the process of their bill passing through the Senate. From taking the bill from the Senate to the House, the bill passed the House with unanimous consent. “I was so shocked that that happened without questions or anything, it just really meant a lot to me” said Jones.
As the bill makes its way into the executive branch, there are a lot of factors that are considered before making it to the governor’s desk. “I tried to go through as many angles as I could on the bill to see if there would be any issues,” said Jones.
Inspiration for the creation of this bill, Jones felt the need for this issue to be taken seriously. “I’ve heard about it on the news and was shocked about what’s happening,” said Jones.
As Jones’s bill passed the Senate and today in the House with unanimous consent, it is now in the process of making its way through the executive branch.