Knowing the risks a pregnant woman could face while undergoing cosmetic surgery, a lawmaker has re-filed her bill seeking mandatory pregnancy tests for women who intend to go under the knife. In filing House Bill 366, Caloocan Rep. Mary Mitzi Cajayon said such surgical procedures might not be life-threatening but their accompanying risks may be greater, especially for a pregnant woman. When she first filed the bill in 2008, the lawmaker disclosed that she underwent liposuction without knowing that she was already one week pregnant. “I was exposed to radiation through X-ray, general anesthesia and I was instructed to take antibiotics after my liposuction. I didn’t know I was one week pregnant then," Cajayon said. The proposed measure will require all cosmetic surgeons to conduct a mandatory pregnancy test on every female patient of child-bearing age prior to any surgical procedure that may be considered harmful to pregnant women and unborn children. Female patients who might be pregnant and about to undergo surgical procedure should get "proper medical attention and consideration," Cajayon said. Under the bill, considered potentially harmful cosmetic surgery are those that require the administration of general anesthesia using inhalational anesthetic gases and other types of sedatives given intravenously or orally. The lawmaker said the measure obliges the cosmetic surgeon to make a reasonable disclosure of available choices with respect to a cosmetic procedure. Cosmetic surgeons should tell their patients about the precise and potential risks for a specific cosmetic procedure, and the possibly added risks when the woman is pregnant, Cajayon added.
The bill requires cosmetic surgeons to give advice in lay terms that will help the patient give an informed or intelligent consent to such procedure, and to provide a consent form that will be signed by the patient before undergoing the procedure. Failure to tell the patient of the potential risks and performing cosmetic surgery without the required pregnancy test are among the offenses with corresponding penalties under the proposed law.
If the offense results in the mother’s death or miscarriage of her unborn child, the court may impose a fine of P50,000 or more and suspend the offender’s professional license for one year or longer. Cajayon said the state’s paramount interest is to protect unborn children who cannot defend themselves against the possible harm that may be caused by cosmetic procedures.—JV
