The Arizona Senate voted unanimously to require doctors and medical students to get consent before performing pelvic exams on women under anesthesia.
The approval Tuesday puts Arizona a step closer to joining a growing list of states requiring explicit and informed consent from women.
Identical legislation is also moving quickly through the House.
It comes amid scrutiny of just how much information women are given about sensitive and invasive exams before being knocked out for surgery.
Medical ethics guidelines require informed consent for treatment and exams.
But some medical students instructed to practice on unconscious women have questioned how much the women really knew.
