#forcedsterilization — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #forcedsterilization, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: May 27, 2026 at 04:37AM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: 77 Indigenous Women in Quebec Forcibly Sterilized, Says Report
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Canadian News
Nearly four years after finding that at least 22 Indigenous women underwent forced sterilization in Quebec from 1980 to 2019, researchers now say the number is much higher. The total number of documented cases has risen to 77, with the most recent case occurring within the past 5 years. According to the report, the youngest victim was 15 at the time, the oldest was 40, and many women first learned they were sterilized years after the fact.
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It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #IndigenousRights #QuebecSterilization #ForcedSterilization #IndigenousWomen #CanadaNews #HumanRightsViolations #MedicalEthics #PopulationControl #TruthAndReconciliation #SocialJustice
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DATE: May 27, 2026 at 04:37AM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: 77 Indigenous Women in Quebec Forcibly Sterilized, Says Report
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Canadian News
Nearly four years after finding that at least 22 Indigenous women underwent forced sterilization in Quebec from 1980 to 2019, researchers now say the number is much higher. The total number of documented cases has risen to 77, with the most recent case occurring within the past 5 years. According to the report, the youngest victim was 15 at the time, the oldest was 40, and many women first learned they were sterilized years after the fact.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #IndigenousRights #QuebecSterilization #ForcedSterilization #IndigenousWomen #CanadaNews #HumanRightsViolations #MedicalEthics #PopulationControl #TruthAndReconciliation #SocialJustice
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DATE: May 27, 2026 at 04:37AM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: 77 Indigenous Women in Quebec Forcibly Sterilized, Says Report
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Canadian News
Nearly four years after finding that at least 22 Indigenous women underwent forced sterilization in Quebec from 1980 to 2019, researchers now say the number is much higher. The total number of documented cases has risen to 77, with the most recent case occurring within the past 5 years. According to the report, the youngest victim was 15 at the time, the oldest was 40, and many women first learned they were sterilized years after the fact.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #IndigenousRights #QuebecSterilization #ForcedSterilization #IndigenousWomen #CanadaNews #HumanRightsViolations #MedicalEthics #PopulationControl #TruthAndReconciliation #SocialJustice
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One China policy? Not if you believe in something greater than a government ...
#ForcedSterilization http://youtube.com/post/UgkxfKGFYuQwb2Eeo1atdVxBGm3GuZXPdPVC?si=3XvC_lSuGya_sqhp -
One China policy? Not if you believe in something greater than a government ...
#ForcedSterilization http://youtube.com/post/UgkxfKGFYuQwb2Eeo1atdVxBGm3GuZXPdPVC?si=3XvC_lSuGya_sqhp -
One China policy? Not if you believe in something greater than a government ...
#ForcedSterilization http://youtube.com/post/UgkxfKGFYuQwb2Eeo1atdVxBGm3GuZXPdPVC?si=3XvC_lSuGya_sqhp -
One China policy? Not if you believe in something greater than a government ...
#ForcedSterilization http://youtube.com/post/UgkxfKGFYuQwb2Eeo1atdVxBGm3GuZXPdPVC?si=3XvC_lSuGya_sqhp -
One China policy? Not if you believe in something greater than a government ...
#ForcedSterilization http://youtube.com/post/UgkxfKGFYuQwb2Eeo1atdVxBGm3GuZXPdPVC?si=3XvC_lSuGya_sqhp -
For decades, the U.S. sterilized Black, Indigenous, Latina & disabled women without consent. Reproductive control is a legacy of eugenics. #ForcedSterilization #BannedHistory #ReproductiveJustice
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For decades, the U.S. sterilized Black, Indigenous, Latina & disabled women without consent. Reproductive control is a legacy of eugenics. #ForcedSterilization #BannedHistory #ReproductiveJustice
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For decades, the U.S. sterilized Black, Indigenous, Latina & disabled women without consent. Reproductive control is a legacy of eugenics. #ForcedSterilization #BannedHistory #ReproductiveJustice
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Czech lower house has opened the way to extend the compensation process for forced sterilization victims, amendment to public health insurance law is about to enter the final reading – Romea.cz https://www.byteseu.com/827135/ #CzechChamberOfDeputies #CzechRepublic #Czechia #Diskriminace #ExtensionOfCzechCompensationForForcedSterilization #ForcedSterilization #Rasismus #RomaniWomen
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Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs
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Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs
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Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs
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Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs
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Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs
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Life 'cut short': #Peru's victims of #ForcedSterilization seek amends
Story by Agence France-Presse, 2/12/2025
LIMA — "Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the #PeruvianGovernment, against her will.
"Decades later, the 46-year-old #IndigenousWoman is still fighting for an apology and #reparations along with thousands of others robbed of their fertility in a 1990s state campaign condemned by the United Nations.
'My life was cut short,' Loayza told Agence France-Presse, recounting how her partner abandoned her over the procedure, which also left her with lasting pain."'On the outside, we look fine, but inside we are withering,' she said of the estimated 270,000 women who, like her, were coerced, pressured or deceived into surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied.
"Eighteen women died, according to official data, during the campaign that marked the final years of then-President #AlbertoFujimori's 1990-2000 rule.
"His government said it had offered sterilization as part of a family planning project, but the UN women's rights committee said in a report last October the state had carried out a 'systematic and generalized attack against rural and #Indigenous women.'
"It said the procedures were carried out without #InformedConsent from victims who were often poorly educated and did not understand Spanish, the language of officialdom in Peru.
"'It's not something that was done in the cities... but in a specific (rural) area as a way of fighting poverty so that the poorest women didn't reproduce,' Leticia Bonifaz, who was a member of the UN committee, told AFP.
"She said it was the biggest known case of forced sterilization in #LatinAmerica."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/life-cut-short-perus-victims-of-forced-sterilization-seek-amends/ar-AA1yTNBf
#PeruPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
Life 'cut short': #Peru's victims of #ForcedSterilization seek amends
Story by Agence France-Presse, 2/12/2025
LIMA — "Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the #PeruvianGovernment, against her will.
"Decades later, the 46-year-old #IndigenousWoman is still fighting for an apology and #reparations along with thousands of others robbed of their fertility in a 1990s state campaign condemned by the United Nations.
'My life was cut short,' Loayza told Agence France-Presse, recounting how her partner abandoned her over the procedure, which also left her with lasting pain."'On the outside, we look fine, but inside we are withering,' she said of the estimated 270,000 women who, like her, were coerced, pressured or deceived into surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied.
"Eighteen women died, according to official data, during the campaign that marked the final years of then-President #AlbertoFujimori's 1990-2000 rule.
"His government said it had offered sterilization as part of a family planning project, but the UN women's rights committee said in a report last October the state had carried out a 'systematic and generalized attack against rural and #Indigenous women.'
"It said the procedures were carried out without #InformedConsent from victims who were often poorly educated and did not understand Spanish, the language of officialdom in Peru.
"'It's not something that was done in the cities... but in a specific (rural) area as a way of fighting poverty so that the poorest women didn't reproduce,' Leticia Bonifaz, who was a member of the UN committee, told AFP.
"She said it was the biggest known case of forced sterilization in #LatinAmerica."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/life-cut-short-perus-victims-of-forced-sterilization-seek-amends/ar-AA1yTNBf
#PeruPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
Life 'cut short': #Peru's victims of #ForcedSterilization seek amends
Story by Agence France-Presse, 2/12/2025
LIMA — "Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the #PeruvianGovernment, against her will.
"Decades later, the 46-year-old #IndigenousWoman is still fighting for an apology and #reparations along with thousands of others robbed of their fertility in a 1990s state campaign condemned by the United Nations.
'My life was cut short,' Loayza told Agence France-Presse, recounting how her partner abandoned her over the procedure, which also left her with lasting pain."'On the outside, we look fine, but inside we are withering,' she said of the estimated 270,000 women who, like her, were coerced, pressured or deceived into surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied.
"Eighteen women died, according to official data, during the campaign that marked the final years of then-President #AlbertoFujimori's 1990-2000 rule.
"His government said it had offered sterilization as part of a family planning project, but the UN women's rights committee said in a report last October the state had carried out a 'systematic and generalized attack against rural and #Indigenous women.'
"It said the procedures were carried out without #InformedConsent from victims who were often poorly educated and did not understand Spanish, the language of officialdom in Peru.
"'It's not something that was done in the cities... but in a specific (rural) area as a way of fighting poverty so that the poorest women didn't reproduce,' Leticia Bonifaz, who was a member of the UN committee, told AFP.
"She said it was the biggest known case of forced sterilization in #LatinAmerica."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/life-cut-short-perus-victims-of-forced-sterilization-seek-amends/ar-AA1yTNBf
#PeruPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
Life 'cut short': #Peru's victims of #ForcedSterilization seek amends
Story by Agence France-Presse, 2/12/2025
LIMA — "Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the #PeruvianGovernment, against her will.
"Decades later, the 46-year-old #IndigenousWoman is still fighting for an apology and #reparations along with thousands of others robbed of their fertility in a 1990s state campaign condemned by the United Nations.
'My life was cut short,' Loayza told Agence France-Presse, recounting how her partner abandoned her over the procedure, which also left her with lasting pain."'On the outside, we look fine, but inside we are withering,' she said of the estimated 270,000 women who, like her, were coerced, pressured or deceived into surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied.
"Eighteen women died, according to official data, during the campaign that marked the final years of then-President #AlbertoFujimori's 1990-2000 rule.
"His government said it had offered sterilization as part of a family planning project, but the UN women's rights committee said in a report last October the state had carried out a 'systematic and generalized attack against rural and #Indigenous women.'
"It said the procedures were carried out without #InformedConsent from victims who were often poorly educated and did not understand Spanish, the language of officialdom in Peru.
"'It's not something that was done in the cities... but in a specific (rural) area as a way of fighting poverty so that the poorest women didn't reproduce,' Leticia Bonifaz, who was a member of the UN committee, told AFP.
"She said it was the biggest known case of forced sterilization in #LatinAmerica."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/life-cut-short-perus-victims-of-forced-sterilization-seek-amends/ar-AA1yTNBf
#PeruPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
Life 'cut short': #Peru's victims of #ForcedSterilization seek amends
Story by Agence France-Presse, 2/12/2025
LIMA — "Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the #PeruvianGovernment, against her will.
"Decades later, the 46-year-old #IndigenousWoman is still fighting for an apology and #reparations along with thousands of others robbed of their fertility in a 1990s state campaign condemned by the United Nations.
'My life was cut short,' Loayza told Agence France-Presse, recounting how her partner abandoned her over the procedure, which also left her with lasting pain."'On the outside, we look fine, but inside we are withering,' she said of the estimated 270,000 women who, like her, were coerced, pressured or deceived into surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied.
"Eighteen women died, according to official data, during the campaign that marked the final years of then-President #AlbertoFujimori's 1990-2000 rule.
"His government said it had offered sterilization as part of a family planning project, but the UN women's rights committee said in a report last October the state had carried out a 'systematic and generalized attack against rural and #Indigenous women.'
"It said the procedures were carried out without #InformedConsent from victims who were often poorly educated and did not understand Spanish, the language of officialdom in Peru.
"'It's not something that was done in the cities... but in a specific (rural) area as a way of fighting poverty so that the poorest women didn't reproduce,' Leticia Bonifaz, who was a member of the UN committee, told AFP.
"She said it was the biggest known case of forced sterilization in #LatinAmerica."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/life-cut-short-perus-victims-of-forced-sterilization-seek-amends/ar-AA1yTNBf
#PeruPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!
As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world
#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today
by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025
"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.
"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.
"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.
"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.
"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.
"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.
"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.
"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.
"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.
"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."
Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!
As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world
#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today
by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025
"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.
"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.
"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.
"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.
"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.
"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.
"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.
"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.
"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.
"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."
Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!
As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world
#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today
by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025
"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.
"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.
"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.
"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.
"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.
"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.
"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.
"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.
"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.
"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."
Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!
As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world
#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today
by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025
"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.
"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.
"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.
"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.
"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.
"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.
"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.
"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.
"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.
"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."
Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!
As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world
#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today
by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025
"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.
"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.
"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.
"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.
"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.
"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.
"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.
"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.
"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.
"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."
Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide -
Not just in the #UnitedStates...
Class-action authorized for #ForcedSterilization of multiple #Atikamekw women in #Quebec
February 24, 2025
"The Quebec Court of Appeal is authorizing a class-action for forced sterilization of multiple Atikamekw women in #JolietteQuebec. Previously, the class-action was just against three physicians, but now includes a regional health authority."
Watch:
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/class-action-authorized-for-forced-sterilization-of-multiple-atikamekw-women-in-quebec/
#CanadaPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #NativeAmericanWomen #Sterilization #Genocide -
Not just in the #UnitedStates...
Class-action authorized for #ForcedSterilization of multiple #Atikamekw women in #Quebec
February 24, 2025
"The Quebec Court of Appeal is authorizing a class-action for forced sterilization of multiple Atikamekw women in #JolietteQuebec. Previously, the class-action was just against three physicians, but now includes a regional health authority."
Watch:
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/class-action-authorized-for-forced-sterilization-of-multiple-atikamekw-women-in-quebec/
#CanadaPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #NativeAmericanWomen #Sterilization #Genocide -
Not just in the #UnitedStates...
Class-action authorized for #ForcedSterilization of multiple #Atikamekw women in #Quebec
February 24, 2025
"The Quebec Court of Appeal is authorizing a class-action for forced sterilization of multiple Atikamekw women in #JolietteQuebec. Previously, the class-action was just against three physicians, but now includes a regional health authority."
Watch:
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/class-action-authorized-for-forced-sterilization-of-multiple-atikamekw-women-in-quebec/
#CanadaPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #NativeAmericanWomen #Sterilization #Genocide -
Not just in the #UnitedStates...
Class-action authorized for #ForcedSterilization of multiple #Atikamekw women in #Quebec
February 24, 2025
"The Quebec Court of Appeal is authorizing a class-action for forced sterilization of multiple Atikamekw women in #JolietteQuebec. Previously, the class-action was just against three physicians, but now includes a regional health authority."
Watch:
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/class-action-authorized-for-forced-sterilization-of-multiple-atikamekw-women-in-quebec/
#CanadaPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #NativeAmericanWomen #Sterilization #Genocide -
Not just in the #UnitedStates...
Class-action authorized for #ForcedSterilization of multiple #Atikamekw women in #Quebec
February 24, 2025
"The Quebec Court of Appeal is authorizing a class-action for forced sterilization of multiple Atikamekw women in #JolietteQuebec. Previously, the class-action was just against three physicians, but now includes a regional health authority."
Watch:
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/class-action-authorized-for-forced-sterilization-of-multiple-atikamekw-women-in-quebec/
#CanadaPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #ReproductiveAutonomy #NativeAmericanWomen #Sterilization #Genocide -
@Laukidh 2 #ForcedSterilization incidents are 2 incidents too many!
-
@Laukidh 2 #ForcedSterilization incidents are 2 incidents too many!
-
@Laukidh 2 #ForcedSterilization incidents are 2 incidents too many!
-
@Laukidh 2 #ForcedSterilization incidents are 2 incidents too many!
-
@Laukidh 2 #ForcedSterilization incidents are 2 incidents too many!
-
America’s Forgotten History of #ForcedSterilization
By Sanjana Manjeshwar on November 4, 2020
"In early September, a nurse working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) detention center in #Georgia came forward with shocking allegations of medical neglect and abuse, claiming that numerous involuntary #hysterectomies (uterus removal surgeries) were performed on detained #ImmigrantWomen. This allegation understandably evoked fury and outrage among the general public, with numerous people denouncing it as a #HumanRights violation and yet another example of the current administration’s cruelty towards women and immigrants. Many people, including prominent liberal politicians and public figures, viewed it as something distinctly un-American and at odds with our country’s values — a common refrain that echoed in response to the allegation was 'This isn’t the America I know.' There were countless comparisons to #NaziGermany and other #totalitarian, human rights-abusing regimes, as well as a pervasive sense that the United States was engaging in a uniquely cruel and unprecedented act. Unfortunately, this is a misleading impression.
"While the allegations against ICE are undoubtedly horrific and must be investigated, they are not at all unprecedented or un-American — in fact, they are very American. The United States has a long, egregious, and largely unknown history of eugenics and forced #sterilization, primarily directed towards #PoorWomen, #DisabledWomen, and #WomenOfColor.
"The American #eugenics movement originated in the late 1800s and has always been undeniably based in #racism and #nativism. The word 'eugenics' originally referred to the biological improvement of human genes, but was used as a pseudoscience to justify discriminatory and destructive acts against supposedly undesirable people, such as extremely restrictive #ImmigrationLaws, #AntiMiscegenationLaws, and forced sterilization. The ultimate goal of the eugenics movement was to 'breed out' undesirable traits in order to create a society with a 'superior' genetic makeup, which essentially meant reducing the population of the #NonWhite and the mentally ill. The eugenics movement was widely accepted in American society well into the 20th century, and was not at all relegated to the fringes of society like one might expect. In fact, most states had federally funded eugenics boards, and state-ordered sterilization was a common occurrence. Sterilization was seen as one of the most effective ways to stem the growth of an 'undesirable' population, since ending a woman’s reproductive capabilities meant that she would no longer be able to contribute to the population.
"The Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) decided that a Virginia law authorizing the mandatory sterilization of inmates in mental institutions was constitutional. #CarrieBuck, a 'feeble minded woman' whose mental illness had been in her family for the past three generations, was committed to a state mental institution and was set to undergo a sterilization procedure which required a hearing. The Supreme Court found that the Virginia law was valuable and did not violate the Constitution, and would prevent the United States from 'being swamped with incompetence…Three generations of imbeciles is enough.' The Court has never explicitly overturned #BuckVersusBell.
"California’s '#AsexualizationActs' in the 1910s and 1920s led to the sterilization of 20,000 disproportionately #Black and #Mexican people who were deemed to be mentally ill. #Hitler and the #Nazis were reportedly inspired by #California’s laws when formulating their own #genocidal eugenics policies in the 1930s. When discussing the Asexualization Acts of California, Hitler wrote, 'There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the #UnitedStates.'
"Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. #Black women, #Latina women, and #NativeAmerican women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in #PuertoRico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as '#LaOperación (The Operation)' among Puerto Ricans.
"Black women were also disproportionately and forcibly sterilized and subjected to reproductive abuse. In #NorthCarolina in the 1960s, Black women made up 65 percent of all sterilizations of women, although they were only 25 percent of the population. One Black woman who was subjected to a forced hysterectomy during this time was #FannieLouHamer, a renowned #CivilRights activist. Hamer described how nonconsensual sterilizations of working-class Black women in the South were so common that they were colloquially known as a '#MississippiAppendectomy'.
"Additionally, many Native American women were sterilized against their will. According to a report by historian Jane Lawrence, the Indian Health Service was accused of sterilizing nearly 25% of #Indigenous women during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court, supposedly ensuring reproductive rights for all American women, the reproductive rights of thousands of Indigenous women were entirely ignored as they were forcibly sterilized.
"Forced sterilization, especially in exchange for a sentence reduction, occurs often in the criminal #LegalSystem today. Government-sanctioned efforts to prevent incarcerated people from reproducing were widespread in the 20th century, and still continue today. In 2017, a judge in #Tennessee offered to reduce the jail sentences of convicted people who appeared before him in court if they
'volunteered' to undergo sterilization. In 2009, a 21-year-old woman in #WestVirginia convicted of #marijuana possession underwent sterilization as part of her probation. In 2018, an #Oklahoma woman convicted of cashing a counterfeit check received a reduced sentence after undergoing sterilization at the suggestion of the judge. According to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, almost 150 women considered likely to return to prison were sterilized in California prisons between 2004 and 2003. Although they had to sign 'consent' forms, the procedure, when posed as an incentive for a reduced sentence, generates an ongoing debate about whether or not consent actually exists in these situations. Proponents of the sterilization of incarcerated individuals often cite a lack of 'personal responsibility,' when in reality, many of these individuals face a lack of support and resources. Even if incarceration was somehow the singular determinant of one’s morals and character, sterilization as part of a prison sentence is still a fundamental violation of the right to #ReproductiveAutonomy — something judges and prison officials choose to ignore."Read more:
https://bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #USHistory #WhiteNationalism #Genocide -
America’s Forgotten History of #ForcedSterilization
By Sanjana Manjeshwar on November 4, 2020
"In early September, a nurse working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) detention center in #Georgia came forward with shocking allegations of medical neglect and abuse, claiming that numerous involuntary #hysterectomies (uterus removal surgeries) were performed on detained #ImmigrantWomen. This allegation understandably evoked fury and outrage among the general public, with numerous people denouncing it as a #HumanRights violation and yet another example of the current administration’s cruelty towards women and immigrants. Many people, including prominent liberal politicians and public figures, viewed it as something distinctly un-American and at odds with our country’s values — a common refrain that echoed in response to the allegation was 'This isn’t the America I know.' There were countless comparisons to #NaziGermany and other #totalitarian, human rights-abusing regimes, as well as a pervasive sense that the United States was engaging in a uniquely cruel and unprecedented act. Unfortunately, this is a misleading impression.
"While the allegations against ICE are undoubtedly horrific and must be investigated, they are not at all unprecedented or un-American — in fact, they are very American. The United States has a long, egregious, and largely unknown history of eugenics and forced #sterilization, primarily directed towards #PoorWomen, #DisabledWomen, and #WomenOfColor.
"The American #eugenics movement originated in the late 1800s and has always been undeniably based in #racism and #nativism. The word 'eugenics' originally referred to the biological improvement of human genes, but was used as a pseudoscience to justify discriminatory and destructive acts against supposedly undesirable people, such as extremely restrictive #ImmigrationLaws, #AntiMiscegenationLaws, and forced sterilization. The ultimate goal of the eugenics movement was to 'breed out' undesirable traits in order to create a society with a 'superior' genetic makeup, which essentially meant reducing the population of the #NonWhite and the mentally ill. The eugenics movement was widely accepted in American society well into the 20th century, and was not at all relegated to the fringes of society like one might expect. In fact, most states had federally funded eugenics boards, and state-ordered sterilization was a common occurrence. Sterilization was seen as one of the most effective ways to stem the growth of an 'undesirable' population, since ending a woman’s reproductive capabilities meant that she would no longer be able to contribute to the population.
"The Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) decided that a Virginia law authorizing the mandatory sterilization of inmates in mental institutions was constitutional. #CarrieBuck, a 'feeble minded woman' whose mental illness had been in her family for the past three generations, was committed to a state mental institution and was set to undergo a sterilization procedure which required a hearing. The Supreme Court found that the Virginia law was valuable and did not violate the Constitution, and would prevent the United States from 'being swamped with incompetence…Three generations of imbeciles is enough.' The Court has never explicitly overturned #BuckVersusBell.
"California’s '#AsexualizationActs' in the 1910s and 1920s led to the sterilization of 20,000 disproportionately #Black and #Mexican people who were deemed to be mentally ill. #Hitler and the #Nazis were reportedly inspired by #California’s laws when formulating their own #genocidal eugenics policies in the 1930s. When discussing the Asexualization Acts of California, Hitler wrote, 'There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the #UnitedStates.'
"Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. #Black women, #Latina women, and #NativeAmerican women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in #PuertoRico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as '#LaOperación (The Operation)' among Puerto Ricans.
"Black women were also disproportionately and forcibly sterilized and subjected to reproductive abuse. In #NorthCarolina in the 1960s, Black women made up 65 percent of all sterilizations of women, although they were only 25 percent of the population. One Black woman who was subjected to a forced hysterectomy during this time was #FannieLouHamer, a renowned #CivilRights activist. Hamer described how nonconsensual sterilizations of working-class Black women in the South were so common that they were colloquially known as a '#MississippiAppendectomy'.
"Additionally, many Native American women were sterilized against their will. According to a report by historian Jane Lawrence, the Indian Health Service was accused of sterilizing nearly 25% of #Indigenous women during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court, supposedly ensuring reproductive rights for all American women, the reproductive rights of thousands of Indigenous women were entirely ignored as they were forcibly sterilized.
"Forced sterilization, especially in exchange for a sentence reduction, occurs often in the criminal #LegalSystem today. Government-sanctioned efforts to prevent incarcerated people from reproducing were widespread in the 20th century, and still continue today. In 2017, a judge in #Tennessee offered to reduce the jail sentences of convicted people who appeared before him in court if they
'volunteered' to undergo sterilization. In 2009, a 21-year-old woman in #WestVirginia convicted of #marijuana possession underwent sterilization as part of her probation. In 2018, an #Oklahoma woman convicted of cashing a counterfeit check received a reduced sentence after undergoing sterilization at the suggestion of the judge. According to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, almost 150 women considered likely to return to prison were sterilized in California prisons between 2004 and 2003. Although they had to sign 'consent' forms, the procedure, when posed as an incentive for a reduced sentence, generates an ongoing debate about whether or not consent actually exists in these situations. Proponents of the sterilization of incarcerated individuals often cite a lack of 'personal responsibility,' when in reality, many of these individuals face a lack of support and resources. Even if incarceration was somehow the singular determinant of one’s morals and character, sterilization as part of a prison sentence is still a fundamental violation of the right to #ReproductiveAutonomy — something judges and prison officials choose to ignore."Read more:
https://bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #USHistory #WhiteNationalism #Genocide -
America’s Forgotten History of #ForcedSterilization
By Sanjana Manjeshwar on November 4, 2020
"In early September, a nurse working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) detention center in #Georgia came forward with shocking allegations of medical neglect and abuse, claiming that numerous involuntary #hysterectomies (uterus removal surgeries) were performed on detained #ImmigrantWomen. This allegation understandably evoked fury and outrage among the general public, with numerous people denouncing it as a #HumanRights violation and yet another example of the current administration’s cruelty towards women and immigrants. Many people, including prominent liberal politicians and public figures, viewed it as something distinctly un-American and at odds with our country’s values — a common refrain that echoed in response to the allegation was 'This isn’t the America I know.' There were countless comparisons to #NaziGermany and other #totalitarian, human rights-abusing regimes, as well as a pervasive sense that the United States was engaging in a uniquely cruel and unprecedented act. Unfortunately, this is a misleading impression.
"While the allegations against ICE are undoubtedly horrific and must be investigated, they are not at all unprecedented or un-American — in fact, they are very American. The United States has a long, egregious, and largely unknown history of eugenics and forced #sterilization, primarily directed towards #PoorWomen, #DisabledWomen, and #WomenOfColor.
"The American #eugenics movement originated in the late 1800s and has always been undeniably based in #racism and #nativism. The word 'eugenics' originally referred to the biological improvement of human genes, but was used as a pseudoscience to justify discriminatory and destructive acts against supposedly undesirable people, such as extremely restrictive #ImmigrationLaws, #AntiMiscegenationLaws, and forced sterilization. The ultimate goal of the eugenics movement was to 'breed out' undesirable traits in order to create a society with a 'superior' genetic makeup, which essentially meant reducing the population of the #NonWhite and the mentally ill. The eugenics movement was widely accepted in American society well into the 20th century, and was not at all relegated to the fringes of society like one might expect. In fact, most states had federally funded eugenics boards, and state-ordered sterilization was a common occurrence. Sterilization was seen as one of the most effective ways to stem the growth of an 'undesirable' population, since ending a woman’s reproductive capabilities meant that she would no longer be able to contribute to the population.
"The Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) decided that a Virginia law authorizing the mandatory sterilization of inmates in mental institutions was constitutional. #CarrieBuck, a 'feeble minded woman' whose mental illness had been in her family for the past three generations, was committed to a state mental institution and was set to undergo a sterilization procedure which required a hearing. The Supreme Court found that the Virginia law was valuable and did not violate the Constitution, and would prevent the United States from 'being swamped with incompetence…Three generations of imbeciles is enough.' The Court has never explicitly overturned #BuckVersusBell.
"California’s '#AsexualizationActs' in the 1910s and 1920s led to the sterilization of 20,000 disproportionately #Black and #Mexican people who were deemed to be mentally ill. #Hitler and the #Nazis were reportedly inspired by #California’s laws when formulating their own #genocidal eugenics policies in the 1930s. When discussing the Asexualization Acts of California, Hitler wrote, 'There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the #UnitedStates.'
"Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. #Black women, #Latina women, and #NativeAmerican women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in #PuertoRico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as '#LaOperación (The Operation)' among Puerto Ricans.
"Black women were also disproportionately and forcibly sterilized and subjected to reproductive abuse. In #NorthCarolina in the 1960s, Black women made up 65 percent of all sterilizations of women, although they were only 25 percent of the population. One Black woman who was subjected to a forced hysterectomy during this time was #FannieLouHamer, a renowned #CivilRights activist. Hamer described how nonconsensual sterilizations of working-class Black women in the South were so common that they were colloquially known as a '#MississippiAppendectomy'.
"Additionally, many Native American women were sterilized against their will. According to a report by historian Jane Lawrence, the Indian Health Service was accused of sterilizing nearly 25% of #Indigenous women during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court, supposedly ensuring reproductive rights for all American women, the reproductive rights of thousands of Indigenous women were entirely ignored as they were forcibly sterilized.
"Forced sterilization, especially in exchange for a sentence reduction, occurs often in the criminal #LegalSystem today. Government-sanctioned efforts to prevent incarcerated people from reproducing were widespread in the 20th century, and still continue today. In 2017, a judge in #Tennessee offered to reduce the jail sentences of convicted people who appeared before him in court if they
'volunteered' to undergo sterilization. In 2009, a 21-year-old woman in #WestVirginia convicted of #marijuana possession underwent sterilization as part of her probation. In 2018, an #Oklahoma woman convicted of cashing a counterfeit check received a reduced sentence after undergoing sterilization at the suggestion of the judge. According to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, almost 150 women considered likely to return to prison were sterilized in California prisons between 2004 and 2003. Although they had to sign 'consent' forms, the procedure, when posed as an incentive for a reduced sentence, generates an ongoing debate about whether or not consent actually exists in these situations. Proponents of the sterilization of incarcerated individuals often cite a lack of 'personal responsibility,' when in reality, many of these individuals face a lack of support and resources. Even if incarceration was somehow the singular determinant of one’s morals and character, sterilization as part of a prison sentence is still a fundamental violation of the right to #ReproductiveAutonomy — something judges and prison officials choose to ignore."Read more:
https://bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #USHistory #WhiteNationalism #Genocide -
America’s Forgotten History of #ForcedSterilization
By Sanjana Manjeshwar on November 4, 2020
"In early September, a nurse working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) detention center in #Georgia came forward with shocking allegations of medical neglect and abuse, claiming that numerous involuntary #hysterectomies (uterus removal surgeries) were performed on detained #ImmigrantWomen. This allegation understandably evoked fury and outrage among the general public, with numerous people denouncing it as a #HumanRights violation and yet another example of the current administration’s cruelty towards women and immigrants. Many people, including prominent liberal politicians and public figures, viewed it as something distinctly un-American and at odds with our country’s values — a common refrain that echoed in response to the allegation was 'This isn’t the America I know.' There were countless comparisons to #NaziGermany and other #totalitarian, human rights-abusing regimes, as well as a pervasive sense that the United States was engaging in a uniquely cruel and unprecedented act. Unfortunately, this is a misleading impression.
"While the allegations against ICE are undoubtedly horrific and must be investigated, they are not at all unprecedented or un-American — in fact, they are very American. The United States has a long, egregious, and largely unknown history of eugenics and forced #sterilization, primarily directed towards #PoorWomen, #DisabledWomen, and #WomenOfColor.
"The American #eugenics movement originated in the late 1800s and has always been undeniably based in #racism and #nativism. The word 'eugenics' originally referred to the biological improvement of human genes, but was used as a pseudoscience to justify discriminatory and destructive acts against supposedly undesirable people, such as extremely restrictive #ImmigrationLaws, #AntiMiscegenationLaws, and forced sterilization. The ultimate goal of the eugenics movement was to 'breed out' undesirable traits in order to create a society with a 'superior' genetic makeup, which essentially meant reducing the population of the #NonWhite and the mentally ill. The eugenics movement was widely accepted in American society well into the 20th century, and was not at all relegated to the fringes of society like one might expect. In fact, most states had federally funded eugenics boards, and state-ordered sterilization was a common occurrence. Sterilization was seen as one of the most effective ways to stem the growth of an 'undesirable' population, since ending a woman’s reproductive capabilities meant that she would no longer be able to contribute to the population.
"The Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) decided that a Virginia law authorizing the mandatory sterilization of inmates in mental institutions was constitutional. #CarrieBuck, a 'feeble minded woman' whose mental illness had been in her family for the past three generations, was committed to a state mental institution and was set to undergo a sterilization procedure which required a hearing. The Supreme Court found that the Virginia law was valuable and did not violate the Constitution, and would prevent the United States from 'being swamped with incompetence…Three generations of imbeciles is enough.' The Court has never explicitly overturned #BuckVersusBell.
"California’s '#AsexualizationActs' in the 1910s and 1920s led to the sterilization of 20,000 disproportionately #Black and #Mexican people who were deemed to be mentally ill. #Hitler and the #Nazis were reportedly inspired by #California’s laws when formulating their own #genocidal eugenics policies in the 1930s. When discussing the Asexualization Acts of California, Hitler wrote, 'There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the #UnitedStates.'
"Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. #Black women, #Latina women, and #NativeAmerican women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in #PuertoRico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as '#LaOperación (The Operation)' among Puerto Ricans.
"Black women were also disproportionately and forcibly sterilized and subjected to reproductive abuse. In #NorthCarolina in the 1960s, Black women made up 65 percent of all sterilizations of women, although they were only 25 percent of the population. One Black woman who was subjected to a forced hysterectomy during this time was #FannieLouHamer, a renowned #CivilRights activist. Hamer described how nonconsensual sterilizations of working-class Black women in the South were so common that they were colloquially known as a '#MississippiAppendectomy'.
"Additionally, many Native American women were sterilized against their will. According to a report by historian Jane Lawrence, the Indian Health Service was accused of sterilizing nearly 25% of #Indigenous women during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court, supposedly ensuring reproductive rights for all American women, the reproductive rights of thousands of Indigenous women were entirely ignored as they were forcibly sterilized.
"Forced sterilization, especially in exchange for a sentence reduction, occurs often in the criminal #LegalSystem today. Government-sanctioned efforts to prevent incarcerated people from reproducing were widespread in the 20th century, and still continue today. In 2017, a judge in #Tennessee offered to reduce the jail sentences of convicted people who appeared before him in court if they
'volunteered' to undergo sterilization. In 2009, a 21-year-old woman in #WestVirginia convicted of #marijuana possession underwent sterilization as part of her probation. In 2018, an #Oklahoma woman convicted of cashing a counterfeit check received a reduced sentence after undergoing sterilization at the suggestion of the judge. According to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, almost 150 women considered likely to return to prison were sterilized in California prisons between 2004 and 2003. Although they had to sign 'consent' forms, the procedure, when posed as an incentive for a reduced sentence, generates an ongoing debate about whether or not consent actually exists in these situations. Proponents of the sterilization of incarcerated individuals often cite a lack of 'personal responsibility,' when in reality, many of these individuals face a lack of support and resources. Even if incarceration was somehow the singular determinant of one’s morals and character, sterilization as part of a prison sentence is still a fundamental violation of the right to #ReproductiveAutonomy — something judges and prison officials choose to ignore."Read more:
https://bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #USHistory #WhiteNationalism #Genocide -
America’s Forgotten History of #ForcedSterilization
By Sanjana Manjeshwar on November 4, 2020
"In early September, a nurse working at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) detention center in #Georgia came forward with shocking allegations of medical neglect and abuse, claiming that numerous involuntary #hysterectomies (uterus removal surgeries) were performed on detained #ImmigrantWomen. This allegation understandably evoked fury and outrage among the general public, with numerous people denouncing it as a #HumanRights violation and yet another example of the current administration’s cruelty towards women and immigrants. Many people, including prominent liberal politicians and public figures, viewed it as something distinctly un-American and at odds with our country’s values — a common refrain that echoed in response to the allegation was 'This isn’t the America I know.' There were countless comparisons to #NaziGermany and other #totalitarian, human rights-abusing regimes, as well as a pervasive sense that the United States was engaging in a uniquely cruel and unprecedented act. Unfortunately, this is a misleading impression.
"While the allegations against ICE are undoubtedly horrific and must be investigated, they are not at all unprecedented or un-American — in fact, they are very American. The United States has a long, egregious, and largely unknown history of eugenics and forced #sterilization, primarily directed towards #PoorWomen, #DisabledWomen, and #WomenOfColor.
"The American #eugenics movement originated in the late 1800s and has always been undeniably based in #racism and #nativism. The word 'eugenics' originally referred to the biological improvement of human genes, but was used as a pseudoscience to justify discriminatory and destructive acts against supposedly undesirable people, such as extremely restrictive #ImmigrationLaws, #AntiMiscegenationLaws, and forced sterilization. The ultimate goal of the eugenics movement was to 'breed out' undesirable traits in order to create a society with a 'superior' genetic makeup, which essentially meant reducing the population of the #NonWhite and the mentally ill. The eugenics movement was widely accepted in American society well into the 20th century, and was not at all relegated to the fringes of society like one might expect. In fact, most states had federally funded eugenics boards, and state-ordered sterilization was a common occurrence. Sterilization was seen as one of the most effective ways to stem the growth of an 'undesirable' population, since ending a woman’s reproductive capabilities meant that she would no longer be able to contribute to the population.
"The Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) decided that a Virginia law authorizing the mandatory sterilization of inmates in mental institutions was constitutional. #CarrieBuck, a 'feeble minded woman' whose mental illness had been in her family for the past three generations, was committed to a state mental institution and was set to undergo a sterilization procedure which required a hearing. The Supreme Court found that the Virginia law was valuable and did not violate the Constitution, and would prevent the United States from 'being swamped with incompetence…Three generations of imbeciles is enough.' The Court has never explicitly overturned #BuckVersusBell.
"California’s '#AsexualizationActs' in the 1910s and 1920s led to the sterilization of 20,000 disproportionately #Black and #Mexican people who were deemed to be mentally ill. #Hitler and the #Nazis were reportedly inspired by #California’s laws when formulating their own #genocidal eugenics policies in the 1930s. When discussing the Asexualization Acts of California, Hitler wrote, 'There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the #UnitedStates.'
"Throughout the 20th century, nearly 70,0000 people (overwhelmingly working-class women of color) were sterilized in over 30 states. #Black women, #Latina women, and #NativeAmerican women were specifically targeted. From the 1930s to the 1970s, nearly one-third of the women in #PuertoRico, a U.S. territory, were coerced into sterilization when government officials claimed that Puerto Rico’s economy would benefit from a reduced population. Sterilization was so common that it became known as '#LaOperación (The Operation)' among Puerto Ricans.
"Black women were also disproportionately and forcibly sterilized and subjected to reproductive abuse. In #NorthCarolina in the 1960s, Black women made up 65 percent of all sterilizations of women, although they were only 25 percent of the population. One Black woman who was subjected to a forced hysterectomy during this time was #FannieLouHamer, a renowned #CivilRights activist. Hamer described how nonconsensual sterilizations of working-class Black women in the South were so common that they were colloquially known as a '#MississippiAppendectomy'.
"Additionally, many Native American women were sterilized against their will. According to a report by historian Jane Lawrence, the Indian Health Service was accused of sterilizing nearly 25% of #Indigenous women during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court, supposedly ensuring reproductive rights for all American women, the reproductive rights of thousands of Indigenous women were entirely ignored as they were forcibly sterilized.
"Forced sterilization, especially in exchange for a sentence reduction, occurs often in the criminal #LegalSystem today. Government-sanctioned efforts to prevent incarcerated people from reproducing were widespread in the 20th century, and still continue today. In 2017, a judge in #Tennessee offered to reduce the jail sentences of convicted people who appeared before him in court if they
'volunteered' to undergo sterilization. In 2009, a 21-year-old woman in #WestVirginia convicted of #marijuana possession underwent sterilization as part of her probation. In 2018, an #Oklahoma woman convicted of cashing a counterfeit check received a reduced sentence after undergoing sterilization at the suggestion of the judge. According to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, almost 150 women considered likely to return to prison were sterilized in California prisons between 2004 and 2003. Although they had to sign 'consent' forms, the procedure, when posed as an incentive for a reduced sentence, generates an ongoing debate about whether or not consent actually exists in these situations. Proponents of the sterilization of incarcerated individuals often cite a lack of 'personal responsibility,' when in reality, many of these individuals face a lack of support and resources. Even if incarceration was somehow the singular determinant of one’s morals and character, sterilization as part of a prison sentence is still a fundamental violation of the right to #ReproductiveAutonomy — something judges and prison officials choose to ignore."Read more:
https://bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #USHistory #WhiteNationalism #Genocide -
#ForcedSterilization of #DisabledPeople Isn’t a Relic of the Past
In a majority of states, #eugenics-era laws still let doctors sterilize disabled patients against their will.
by Julia Métraux
February 27, 2025"'In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—'prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.' Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable.
"In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed 'feebleminded' on the grounds of 'promiscuous' behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s nephew. Three years later, with the Court’s blessing, Virginia’s 'State Colony of Epileptics and Feeble Minded' sterilized Buck against her will. The decision, passed at the height of the 20th-century eugenics movement, has never been overturned.
"'There’s a very different standard being applied to disabled people’s autonomy.'
"To this day, 31 states and #WashingtonDC, still have laws on the books that allow for the practice—and just two, #Alaska and #NorthCarolina, have laws that fully ban the #nonconsensual #sterilization of disabled people, according to a 2022 report from the National Women’s Law Center. There’s no official account of just how many disabled people have been sterilized under those laws.
"Some of these laws aren’t even that old. In 2019, #Iowa and #Nevada passed new forced sterilization laws that applied to people under #guardianship. Both bills passed unanimously, and the end result is consistent with laws on the books in other states. There was no discourse among politicians—let alone objections—about the ethics of sterilizing disabled people without their consent.
"Sterilization and Social Justice Lab co-director and founder Alexandra Minna Stern said that early IQ tests, which sought to measure intelligence in part on the basis of class- and culture-based questions involving Beethoven’s sonatas, the early United States, and college athletics, were 'used to categorize people who would then be targeted for sterilization,' generally those who were '#marginalized or maligned in some way': in #California and the #Southwest, often #MexicanAmericans; nationwide, #Black, #Indigenous and #poorer white Americans, particularly women. The people behind the tests, Stern says, were 'white, #elite men who wanted to create a certain type of society in their own image.'
"NWLC senior counsel for health equity and justice Ma’ayan Anafi, who is also disabled, told Mother Jones that “forced sterilization laws are a really powerful example of how violations of disabled people’s bodies and rights are baked into our legal system today.”
Read more:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/forced-sterilization-eugenics-scotus-state-laws/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony -
#ForcedSterilization of #DisabledPeople Isn’t a Relic of the Past
In a majority of states, #eugenics-era laws still let doctors sterilize disabled patients against their will.
by Julia Métraux
February 27, 2025"'In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—'prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.' Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable.
"In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed 'feebleminded' on the grounds of 'promiscuous' behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s nephew. Three years later, with the Court’s blessing, Virginia’s 'State Colony of Epileptics and Feeble Minded' sterilized Buck against her will. The decision, passed at the height of the 20th-century eugenics movement, has never been overturned.
"'There’s a very different standard being applied to disabled people’s autonomy.'
"To this day, 31 states and #WashingtonDC, still have laws on the books that allow for the practice—and just two, #Alaska and #NorthCarolina, have laws that fully ban the #nonconsensual #sterilization of disabled people, according to a 2022 report from the National Women’s Law Center. There’s no official account of just how many disabled people have been sterilized under those laws.
"Some of these laws aren’t even that old. In 2019, #Iowa and #Nevada passed new forced sterilization laws that applied to people under #guardianship. Both bills passed unanimously, and the end result is consistent with laws on the books in other states. There was no discourse among politicians—let alone objections—about the ethics of sterilizing disabled people without their consent.
"Sterilization and Social Justice Lab co-director and founder Alexandra Minna Stern said that early IQ tests, which sought to measure intelligence in part on the basis of class- and culture-based questions involving Beethoven’s sonatas, the early United States, and college athletics, were 'used to categorize people who would then be targeted for sterilization,' generally those who were '#marginalized or maligned in some way': in #California and the #Southwest, often #MexicanAmericans; nationwide, #Black, #Indigenous and #poorer white Americans, particularly women. The people behind the tests, Stern says, were 'white, #elite men who wanted to create a certain type of society in their own image.'
"NWLC senior counsel for health equity and justice Ma’ayan Anafi, who is also disabled, told Mother Jones that “forced sterilization laws are a really powerful example of how violations of disabled people’s bodies and rights are baked into our legal system today.”
Read more:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/forced-sterilization-eugenics-scotus-state-laws/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony -
#ForcedSterilization of #DisabledPeople Isn’t a Relic of the Past
In a majority of states, #eugenics-era laws still let doctors sterilize disabled patients against their will.
by Julia Métraux
February 27, 2025"'In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—'prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.' Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable.
"In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed 'feebleminded' on the grounds of 'promiscuous' behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s nephew. Three years later, with the Court’s blessing, Virginia’s 'State Colony of Epileptics and Feeble Minded' sterilized Buck against her will. The decision, passed at the height of the 20th-century eugenics movement, has never been overturned.
"'There’s a very different standard being applied to disabled people’s autonomy.'
"To this day, 31 states and #WashingtonDC, still have laws on the books that allow for the practice—and just two, #Alaska and #NorthCarolina, have laws that fully ban the #nonconsensual #sterilization of disabled people, according to a 2022 report from the National Women’s Law Center. There’s no official account of just how many disabled people have been sterilized under those laws.
"Some of these laws aren’t even that old. In 2019, #Iowa and #Nevada passed new forced sterilization laws that applied to people under #guardianship. Both bills passed unanimously, and the end result is consistent with laws on the books in other states. There was no discourse among politicians—let alone objections—about the ethics of sterilizing disabled people without their consent.
"Sterilization and Social Justice Lab co-director and founder Alexandra Minna Stern said that early IQ tests, which sought to measure intelligence in part on the basis of class- and culture-based questions involving Beethoven’s sonatas, the early United States, and college athletics, were 'used to categorize people who would then be targeted for sterilization,' generally those who were '#marginalized or maligned in some way': in #California and the #Southwest, often #MexicanAmericans; nationwide, #Black, #Indigenous and #poorer white Americans, particularly women. The people behind the tests, Stern says, were 'white, #elite men who wanted to create a certain type of society in their own image.'
"NWLC senior counsel for health equity and justice Ma’ayan Anafi, who is also disabled, told Mother Jones that “forced sterilization laws are a really powerful example of how violations of disabled people’s bodies and rights are baked into our legal system today.”
Read more:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/forced-sterilization-eugenics-scotus-state-laws/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony -
#ForcedSterilization of #DisabledPeople Isn’t a Relic of the Past
In a majority of states, #eugenics-era laws still let doctors sterilize disabled patients against their will.
by Julia Métraux
February 27, 2025"'In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—'prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.' Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable.
"In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed 'feebleminded' on the grounds of 'promiscuous' behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s nephew. Three years later, with the Court’s blessing, Virginia’s 'State Colony of Epileptics and Feeble Minded' sterilized Buck against her will. The decision, passed at the height of the 20th-century eugenics movement, has never been overturned.
"'There’s a very different standard being applied to disabled people’s autonomy.'
"To this day, 31 states and #WashingtonDC, still have laws on the books that allow for the practice—and just two, #Alaska and #NorthCarolina, have laws that fully ban the #nonconsensual #sterilization of disabled people, according to a 2022 report from the National Women’s Law Center. There’s no official account of just how many disabled people have been sterilized under those laws.
"Some of these laws aren’t even that old. In 2019, #Iowa and #Nevada passed new forced sterilization laws that applied to people under #guardianship. Both bills passed unanimously, and the end result is consistent with laws on the books in other states. There was no discourse among politicians—let alone objections—about the ethics of sterilizing disabled people without their consent.
"Sterilization and Social Justice Lab co-director and founder Alexandra Minna Stern said that early IQ tests, which sought to measure intelligence in part on the basis of class- and culture-based questions involving Beethoven’s sonatas, the early United States, and college athletics, were 'used to categorize people who would then be targeted for sterilization,' generally those who were '#marginalized or maligned in some way': in #California and the #Southwest, often #MexicanAmericans; nationwide, #Black, #Indigenous and #poorer white Americans, particularly women. The people behind the tests, Stern says, were 'white, #elite men who wanted to create a certain type of society in their own image.'
"NWLC senior counsel for health equity and justice Ma’ayan Anafi, who is also disabled, told Mother Jones that “forced sterilization laws are a really powerful example of how violations of disabled people’s bodies and rights are baked into our legal system today.”
Read more:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/forced-sterilization-eugenics-scotus-state-laws/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony -
#ForcedSterilization of #DisabledPeople Isn’t a Relic of the Past
In a majority of states, #eugenics-era laws still let doctors sterilize disabled patients against their will.
by Julia Métraux
February 27, 2025"'In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—'prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.' Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable.
"In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed 'feebleminded' on the grounds of 'promiscuous' behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s nephew. Three years later, with the Court’s blessing, Virginia’s 'State Colony of Epileptics and Feeble Minded' sterilized Buck against her will. The decision, passed at the height of the 20th-century eugenics movement, has never been overturned.
"'There’s a very different standard being applied to disabled people’s autonomy.'
"To this day, 31 states and #WashingtonDC, still have laws on the books that allow for the practice—and just two, #Alaska and #NorthCarolina, have laws that fully ban the #nonconsensual #sterilization of disabled people, according to a 2022 report from the National Women’s Law Center. There’s no official account of just how many disabled people have been sterilized under those laws.
"Some of these laws aren’t even that old. In 2019, #Iowa and #Nevada passed new forced sterilization laws that applied to people under #guardianship. Both bills passed unanimously, and the end result is consistent with laws on the books in other states. There was no discourse among politicians—let alone objections—about the ethics of sterilizing disabled people without their consent.
"Sterilization and Social Justice Lab co-director and founder Alexandra Minna Stern said that early IQ tests, which sought to measure intelligence in part on the basis of class- and culture-based questions involving Beethoven’s sonatas, the early United States, and college athletics, were 'used to categorize people who would then be targeted for sterilization,' generally those who were '#marginalized or maligned in some way': in #California and the #Southwest, often #MexicanAmericans; nationwide, #Black, #Indigenous and #poorer white Americans, particularly women. The people behind the tests, Stern says, were 'white, #elite men who wanted to create a certain type of society in their own image.'
"NWLC senior counsel for health equity and justice Ma’ayan Anafi, who is also disabled, told Mother Jones that “forced sterilization laws are a really powerful example of how violations of disabled people’s bodies and rights are baked into our legal system today.”
Read more:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/forced-sterilization-eugenics-scotus-state-laws/
#USPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony -
[Thread] So, what's on my mind tonight? A lot of things, but especially the topic of #Sterilization -- both voluntary and involuntary. As we slide further into #Fascism, control over womens' bodies and #ReproductiveRights are becoming moot points -- as some in #Trump's administration are calling for #ForcedSterilization of certain people, and yet, hypocritically, #MAGA types are making #DeathThreats against women who chose sterilization. This is beyond messed up, but par for the course for Fascism. [See #CharacteristicsOfFascism Number 5: Rampant #Sexism -- #LawrenceBritt]. Read on...
#USPol -
[Thread] So, what's on my mind tonight? A lot of things, but especially the topic of #Sterilization -- both voluntary and involuntary. As we slide further into #Fascism, control over womens' bodies and #ReproductiveRights are becoming moot points -- as some in #Trump's administration are calling for #ForcedSterilization of certain people, and yet, hypocritically, #MAGA types are making #DeathThreats against women who chose sterilization. This is beyond messed up, but par for the course for Fascism. [See #CharacteristicsOfFascism Number 5: Rampant #Sexism -- #LawrenceBritt]. Read on...
#USPol -
[Thread] So, what's on my mind tonight? A lot of things, but especially the topic of #Sterilization -- both voluntary and involuntary. As we slide further into #Fascism, control over womens' bodies and #ReproductiveRights are becoming moot points -- as some in #Trump's administration are calling for #ForcedSterilization of certain people, and yet, hypocritically, #MAGA types are making #DeathThreats against women who chose sterilization. This is beyond messed up, but par for the course for Fascism. [See #CharacteristicsOfFascism Number 5: Rampant #Sexism -- #LawrenceBritt]. Read on...
#USPol