AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
"Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old" - that's the title of the actor's new book. It's a reflection on aging and agency as a woman. In her book, Shields revealed that she had a surgery on a part of her body that she refers to as lady parts. We'll say that now to give a heads up to listeners that we'll be discussing sexual health in this story. The actor, then in her 40s, went in for a gynecological procedure, and later the surgeon told Shields that he threw in a little bonus, tightening the vaginal area. Morning Edition host Leila Fadel spoke with Shields. That interview will air on Monday's program. Leila asked her why she didn't complain or sue after the nonconsensual surgery.
BROOKE SHIELDS: I think I wasn't strong enough. I didn't feel secure enough in my career for it to yet again be about my anatomy, you know?
RASCOE: We wanted to talk to a reporter who covers women's health and who has looked into these unwanted procedures. Longtime NPR contributor Sarah Varney is here with us today. Welcome.
SARAH VARNEY, BYLINE: Thanks, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Sarah, a surgeon performing a procedure that Shields didn't agree to - it seems like an immense breach of her bodily autonomy. How do you make sense of what happened to her?
VARNEY: You know, as you just heard her describe, she's been talking about it, and she said it's really hard for her to make sense of what happened to her. You know, she's had this mix of emotions - at first, shock and confusion, and then later anger. She actually writes in her book that she didn't even tell her husband right away because she wasn't even sure what had actually happened to her and why.
I spoke with Cheryl O'Brien. She's an associate professor at San Diego State University, and she studies and publishes research on what's called obstetric violence. So that's violence perpetrated by medical professionals during prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postnatal care. But she said what Brooke Shields went through is very similar.
CHERYL O'BRIEN: He acted like he's an expert on what any woman would want done to their vagina to presumably please a man. And worst, he did what he wanted to her without consent. And women and girls, in particular, have been subject to the policing of their bodies by patriarchal forces inclusive of the medical community for a long time.
RASCOE: O'Brien there says that this has been happening for a long time. Like, how far back does this go?
VARNEY: I mean, how much time do you have (laughter)? Starting in the 1920s, there was something that came to be known as a Mississippi appendectomy. These were involuntary sterilizations to poor Black women who were deemed unfit to reproduce. The term itself was actually coined by Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist. Hamer had actually gone in to have a tumor removed but instead was sterilized. And the idea was that, you know, a patient was going in for an appendectomy - that's where the name came from - and instead had a hysterectomy. But these forced sterilizations - they happened for decades, you know, up until the 1980s.
RASCOE: When we look at, like, what happened to Brooke Shields, is that sexual assault?
VARNEY: Cheryl O'Brien, the researcher, says absolutely. She said, you know, if this was anyone else doing this to a woman, this would be sexual assault. But all because this particular doctor at the time, you know, had the guise of a medical professional, it doesn't mean that he's acting in the best interest of the patient. You know, he was doing what he wanted to her body without asking for her consent.
RASCOE: So what can be done if you think this has happened to you?
VARNEY: So, you know, the difficult part here is that physician discipline does rely on patient complaints. So there are state medical boards and hospital oversight committees that can and do discipline physicians. They can take away their licenses, and, in some cases, they can refer cases for criminal prosecution.
I spoke with Dr. Robert Steinbrook. He's a health research group director at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer organization. And Steinbrook has, for years, advocated for stopping dangerous doctors, for beefing up state medical boards, which can discipline physicians, revoke licenses. And he's focused specifically on sexual misconduct by physicians.
ROBERT STEINBROOK: There's a power dynamic difference between physicians and patients in most cases. It's sometimes difficult for an individual to push back against something that they think is wrong or ask questions.
VARNEY: It really is up to patients to step forward, even when they might feel frustrated or angry or embarrassed. Their stepping forward can really have an impact for themselves and for other patients.
RASCOE: Sarah Varney is a longtime health reporter and a frequent contributor to NPR. Thank you so much for joining us.
VARNEY: Thank you, Ayesha.
RASCOE: You can hear Brooke Shields' full interview with NPR's Leila Fadel tomorrow on Morning Edition.
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