The Future of Forced Sterilizations
The subsection, Against Her Choice: The History of Forced Sterilizations, takes a small glimpse of the horrible history of unconsented sterilizations in the United States. Women continue to fight for their reproductive rights in the present time, and factors such as ethnic background, economic status, and access to resources remain barriers for women to have full authority over their bodies.
The recent allegations of forced sterilizations on women in the custody of an immigration detention center reflect the long battle women have to continue to fight.
The women who underwent hysterectomies in the Irwin County detention center in Georgia are not aware of why the medical workers are performing the surgeries [3]. These recent allegations have raised concern regarding ICE becoming a part of engaging in population control without consent from women in the United States. The reports filed by multiple women have raised the question of what classifies as voluntary sterilization in prisons and detention centers [3].
A long-lasting debate that has resurfaced is the policy of voluntary sterilizations in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers [3].
Although the reproductive rights of women continue to experience backlash and are under attack, there is hope that the inauguration of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. in January 2021 will lead to greater autonomy for women over their bodies.
Resource:
[3] Grant, Melissa Gira. “ICE Is the New Face of America's Legacy of Forced Sterilization.” The New Republic, September 17, 2020. https://newrepublic.com/article/159390/immigration-detention-hysterectomy-forced-sterilization.
Donegan, Moira. “Ice Hysterectomy Allegations in Line with US's Long and Racist History of Eugenics | Moira Donegan.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, September 17, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/17/ice-hysterectomy-allegations-us-eugenics-history.