[Legal considerations regarding radiological examinations of bodypackers ordered by police officers]

A 28-year-old woman was arrested for body packing. One pack was removed from her vagina by the forensic pathologist. She was referred by the police to an emergency surgical department to obtain a radiological examination of the abdomen in order to rule out the presence of further packs in the intestines. In the case of a negative result it would not be necessary to be kept under arrest. For this reason the woman agrees to the examination. The surgeon in the emergency department refused to perform an examination involving radiation exposure to a young woman without any medical indications according to the German X-Ray Ordinance § 23 subsection I. Generally a physician can refuse to perform examinations ordered by state authorities; however, the provision of expert testimony in legal proceedings by a judge, a state attorney or a high ranking police officer makes collaboration mandatory in accordance with § 75 of the German penal code of procedures. However, any relevant harm caused by the examination must be excluded with a very high degree of certainty.