Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) is working to prevent further deaths from cosmetic surgery, following the death of Kanye West’s mother, Donda West late last year.
The legislation, which was announced Friday (Feb. 22), has been dubbed “the Donda West Law.” According to The Daily Bulletin, the law would require patients to receive clearance from a licensed doctor before having elective plastic surgery. This would ensure that individuals would be able to endure side effects from general anesthesia.
“Most people who do
cosmetic surgery are certified and do a good job, and they do require
patients to have physicals,” said Carter on Friday. “But some do not,
and as we have seen, it can cause problems, and that’s why we want to
make this a requirement across the state.“
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The high-profile death of Donda West following plastic surgery on Nov. 10 sparked widespread media coverage. An autopsy revealed that she likely died of heart disease coupled with complications after surgery.
Yolanda Anderson, one of Donda West’s nieces, spoke to her husband about the death. He suggested reaching out to the assemblywoman.
“I didn’t want her death to
be in vain,” said Anderson. “I wanted her name to live on
so this wouldn’t happen to other people.“
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Anderson even spoke to Kanye on the matter, whom she described as “ecstatic and very grateful.”Anderson continued, explaining that “He said, `You started this. Now run with it and let me know how I can help.”‘
Despite trying to convince Donda West to not undergo the plastic surgery, which included breast reduction, a tummy tuck and liposuction, Anderson says she went ahead with it for self-esteem reasons. “She was my favorite aunt,” Anderson said. “We were very close. I tried to convince her not to have the surgery.“
Karen Nikos, spokeswoman for the California Medical Association spoke on the bill as well. “We are still reviewing it,
and that’s very common at this point,” said Nikos.
“We support efforts that increase patients’ safety but we haven’t
thoroughly analyzed that bill and have not taken a position on it.“
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Carter explained that she wanted to know “what problems they have with it so we can get those worked out…I would not in any way cast
any negative opinion toward cosmetic surgeons because many of them do
it the right way. This bill is for those who don’t.“
She also said that a source of inspiration for pushing this bill was Kanye’s recent performance of his 2005 song “Hey Mama” at the 50th annual Grammy Awards. “I was so touched by that,”Carter said. “So I am going to work very hard to make this happen.“
