Read the informational pieces below and discuss the issue of reproductive control including ethical considerations of mandatory sterilization policies.
Uzbek women allege forced sterilization - Salon (07/19/2010)
Social origins of eugenics - Paul Lombardo, UVA
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The article on the Uzbek women was shocking. When the Uzbek government consented sterilization as the only way to keep control of the population, and how they adapted that idea as the only birth control is wrong. In the article I didn’t read why that was the only option but I’m assuming it’s because of the lack of funds and their country seems to be unstable and in war. The idea of the government using that concept as the only solution is very barbaric, knowing that there are other options they can use. This is demeaning to women by lying to them and tricking them into getting permanently sterilized.
In the article of how the sterilization law came into act makes me wonder what kind of people were running this country to allow laws like that. Reading cases like Carries is sad, knowing that thousands of people had to go through that ordeal of judgment and humiliation. Reading how innocent people and orphans were forced to this concept and without trials and consent is inhuman. I think this idea was deluded from the beginning. The concept to create a human race from artificial selection and sterilizing the unfit, just led to more problems and new ideas to other countries. By trying to create a master race of society’s best I think ended up in encouraging other countries to take it to next level.
The idea of someone making this into law is just preposterous to me. Reading the articles on sterilization made me realize how despicable humanity can be to others. The thought and the idea of forcing people getting sterilized are unbelievable to me. I never realized events like that could even take place in this country. I always imagined laws like that could only have happened in medieval times but never in this day and age. It makes realize that humanity still has a long way to go to improve our way of rationalizing our thinking of how we see society. What‘s revolting about the Eugenic sterilization law is that we started doing this before the Nazis? It makes me think if were responsible for showing the Nazis the idea of a perfect race. I think that we were in the beginning of having our own holocaust if this would’ve continued.
The only time I think it would be ethical for the government to impose and enforce forced sterilization on an individual would be in the case of a “child” crime. If someone molests, rapes, or intentionally murders a child, I think that person should be sterilized because no such person should be allowed around children, let alone, to have any children. Other than that, I think it is unethical for any government to forcibly sterilize its citizens as a means of reproductive control. I do not believe that it is the government’s place to impose such mutilation on a human being.
In the country of Uzbek, if women are not healthy or wealthy enough, the government deems them too incompetent to reproduce. Sterilization is the only form of birth control the government promotes. These women do not have any other preventative means offered to them. They aren’t promoted to practice safe sex or given condoms, birth control pills or shots. The women are not offered any type of temporary means of birth control. They are just told that if they are not socially acceptable enough at any point in their lives, the government will ensure they do not ever conceive children. God forbid these women should ever change their ways, turn their lives around and get into a situation where they could provide and care for a child, they would not be able to because the government made sure of that back when they were down and out. No government, the U.S. government included, should be able to make a permanent decision about someone’s reproductive rights, unless they have committed a heinous crime against a child.
Embarrassedly, the U.S. government has been guilty of such reproductive mutilation in the past. At one point, it was like they were trying to create some kind of Utopia. The U.S. passed a law permitting forced sterilization on the “socially inadequate” that included deformed, insane, criminalistic, diseased, epileptic, blind, deaf, and dependent people (orphans, tramps, and the homeless). There are many problems that lie here. Just because someone is deformed, diseased, blind and/or deaf, does not mean they will be incompetent and socially dependent parents. In the case of people with epilepsy, there are medications available to make it manageable so that people can be perfectly functional, productive members of society. This law also stated that anyone who committed any crime should be sterilized to prevent that person from producing offspring that will follow in their parent’s footsteps. The problem that lies here is that just because someone makes a bad decision at some point in his or her life, does not mean he or she cannot and will not learn from their mistakes. Sometimes people are capable of becoming rehabilitated and can go on to become wonderful parents. Criminals do not necessarily breed criminals.
There are obviously other options for birth control available (other than forced, permanent sterilization) and for good reason. We will never be tomorrow where we are today. I can honestly say I agree with Kant in that I generally believe it is wrong, immoral, and unethical to abuse and use others against their will, especially in these situations.
On the issue of forced sterilization a few subjects need to be discussed. Making reproductive decisions for another person I feel is not ethical. There are cases such as cancer where reproductive organs might need to be removed. In that instance it is still the person's choice to undergo the procedure. With forced sterilization the issues of autonomy and respect need to be part of the decision making process.
The women of Uzbekistan are an example where respect and autonomy apply. The forced or strongly suggested sterilization of these women does not really leave the choice up to them. There are concerns about a rapidly rising population in that society but I feel that these women have options besides forced sterilization. Sterilization exposes these women to unnecessary risk of complications and health problems in addition to this many other less invasive options are available. There are inexpensive birth control products available however according to the news excerpt these are not made available to the women of Uzbekistan. Perhaps many of these women are conceiving when they do not want to but have no other options. A rising population is an issue but I feel forced sterilization is not the answer. I feel that education about reproductive options and birth control can be just as effective if not more than forced sterilization. This option would also be ethical and allow women to make their own decisions.
The early American forced sterilization was also highly unethical. The argument for these sterilizations was based on bias against certain people groups and was not scientifically founded in any way. The doctors and scientist of that day did not even understand heredity, yet they concluded that traits such as "feeble mindedness" were inheritable. What is "feeble mindedness"? This term is in no way a diagnosis. Today we understand little better about what traits can be passed on so a person with a true condition can be informed if they will pass it on to their offspring. Because of the information now available a person with a condition such as Cystic Fibrosis understand the risk to the life of a child if they are educated about heredity. In this way many "diseased" births can be prevented. With the severely mentally ill or developmentally disabled the issue becomes a little more difficult because in many cases these people are not capable of making decisions for themselves. For people who are severely impaired this may not be an issue as long as they are abused in some way by others. If a person who is less impaired and whose welfare may be endangered or quality of life severely compromised from a pregnancy should at least consider some kind of birth control. The family members or guardians of the impaired person should be involved in making this decision as well. To force this person to become sterilized though I feel is unethical.
I think it is unethical for any government to forcibly sterilize their citizens as a means of reproductive control. I do not believe that it is the government’s place to impose such mutilation on a human being. Reading the articles on sterilization made me realize how terrible humanity can take over that much control on what they think is better for society. This is sad, but to have a girl in that country is like signing a death warrant to all hopes and dreams. Before the sterilizing process start, why weren’t females given the option of using some type information about practicing safe Sex, condoms, birth control pills, and or shots? Force sterilization… why aren’t men being sterilized as well? I think that they should have an equally opportune occasion for men as well.
However, as for the mentally ill, they should absolutely be sterilized, they can't care for a handicapped child, and they can't even care for themselves. They are also capable of killing the child, torturing, or just abandoning them. Most of them are too obsessed and with their disease and have no other ways of getting help. So this sterilization process should be done to “only” those who don’t possess the right mind set of getting better. I think that humanity still has a long way to go to improve our way of rationalizing our thinking of how we see society.
According to CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, "Civilizations can be judged by how they treat women, children, old people, and strangers. Vulnerable people bring out the kindness in every society and also the cruelty. Every so often, they become the object of practices so vile that they will cause people to recoil in horror across the centuries. One such practice is forced abortion, another is forced sterilization."
While many countries try to curb unwanted pregnancies by giving the population tools to prevent pregnancy, the poor in many countries cannot afford the cost of many measures. While the women of Ubek do not want unwanted pregnancies, they do want to be given the option of controlling their own reproductive rights. The cost of sterilization can be offset by allowing other forms of birth control into the country.
The practice of forced sterilization is morally and ethically unacceptable because it removes an individual's rights to reproduction. In the case of Uzbek women they are women who are competent to make their own decisions, both morally and physically. They can care for their children and have no physical limitations. These sterilization procedures are not what is in the woman's best interest. When submitted to any type of surgery there are risks such as infection or death. Many women are mutilated during these surgeries and have issues related to the surgery that cause painful intercourse and abnormal urinary functions. The woman is no longer to give consent to the procedure or voice her opinion and is forced to have the surgery against her will. The motivation is not the woman's but a countries motivation trying to limit population growth among its people. I found the case of the Ubek women being subjected to forced sterilization appalling. This practice takes away all of the women's rights and takes away their dignity. They no longer have control of their bodies. This country does not even mention the forced sterilization of men.
What I found even more surprising was the United States, has participated in this practice for quite some time. While the United States is often proclaimed a progressive nation, to know that the U.S. Government has discriminated against so many individuals, makes me ashamed and saddened. It surprises me that this practice was permitted in the U.S. even before Hitler adopted this form of genocide in the 1940"s. Did he get this "Idea" from our country? While we claim that "All men are created equal", we do not claim that women are equally able to have rights to their own ability to reproduce offspring. The government and their appointed physicians are allowed to distinguish who is or is not worthy to reproduce and can revoke an individual's reproductive rights. There is no way to put a "happy face' on eugenics and not have a woman's rights removed.
In the instance that an individual was mentally incapacitated, there may be limited cases where forced sterilization may be deemed ethical. This of course is a case by case bases and should not be considered the norm. A mentally challenged individual would not be able to care for a child to the same degree as one who was not mentally challenged. However in the case of mild retardation, they may be able to care for a child in all capacities. As I said it would be case by case.
Yvette Ferguson
Reproductive control should be more eductionally based rather than physically imposed upon individuals. Obviously the ethical considerations of mandatory sterilization policies were based soley on numbers and not the population's rights. I am certain that the population of Vzbekistan can be contained by other means rather than to subject them to procedures against their will. The quota of two women per month to be sterilized makes it sound as if the women were just some type of reproduction assembly line and now that line of production has to be neutrailized or shut down. This sounds like some third-world country isolated occurence but it was disturbing to find out that this is also a practice in America. America is just flat out unexcused given that the Bill of Rights offers and provides various amendments that protect people from being subjected to these practices. Our nation does not get everything wrong, but when error comes, it comes hard and heavy. There are things to consider about reproduction allowances or disallowances when it comes to the mentally ill, just because of the societal woes that already exist for the would-be parents. I still say education is the way for the competent and stable of mind, and if they do not comply, fines and penalties should be imposed and possibly, as a last resort, sterilization.
I feel that most ethical issues must take into account the circumstances surrounding the situation about which the decision is being made; such issues are not black and white, yes or no, but there is a middle ground where each case can be examined. That being said, forced sterilization is not one of these issues. I do not feel that I could ever view this to be ethical simply because sterilization procedures place the patient at risk for many serious adverse outcomes such as infection, bleeding, nerve damage, deep vein thrombosis, cerebrovascular accident, heart attack, disability, or even death. I know these risks may sound extreme and that perhaps I am even using the “slippery slope” fallacy to justify my reasoning; however, such risks are very real with any type of surgical procedure. My biggest problem with this is that someone is forcing a person against his/her will to undergo such risky procedures. However, if a patient elects to—after having been properly educated by his/her physician—have such a procedure by his/her own will, then I can accept and respect that decision. I stand to this belief even if a female is strongly discouraged from becoming pregnant; ultimately, she should be the one to make this decision so long as she knows the risks.
I found several unethical factors in the second article concerning the Eugenic Sterilization Laws. First, the article states that physicians were performing these sterilization procedures prior to approval of such procedures. Second, people were sterilized on the premise that certain traits were inherited; however, many genetic anomalies such as Down’s syndrome and Tay Sach’s are not even transmissible by heredity but result from chromosomal defects that occur during development. Probably the biggest ethical problem discussed in this article is that the victim’s own defense lawyer conspired with the state of Virginia to ensure that the law was upheld, when his job—as her lawyer—was to defend this victim. My final argument is that there are other alternatives such as adoption; moreover, I believe in nurture versus nature and that given a stimulating environment children are still able to thrive.
Andrea Gracia
PP6- Blog
The article of the women from Uzbek was insane to me, it is not right to forcefully sterilize a woman because she is “poor”. I think women should be educated on the procedure and teach them the benefits from it and let them decide. I do not agree with forced sterilization, but there are some cases where women should be forcefully sterilized for their own good and for their potential baby’s health. Women who are addicted and cannot quit should be sterilized. If they have gotten help to quit their addictions but have failed because they are not strong enough to quit, they should be forced because if they do end up pregnant the baby can be born with health problems and suffer later in life. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy they put the fetus at risks for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which causes many health and physical problems and can be fatal. A baby should not have to suffer because a woman is irresponsible due to addictions. I also think woman who are mentally ill, but seriously mentally ill where they cannot care for themselves at all should be sterilized. Sadly there are many men out there who take advantage of women like that and sexually abuse them because they can’t defend themselves. It would be very hard for a woman who is mentally ill to have a baby because they can’t care for them. The case of Buck v. Bell (1927) reminds me of a family situation, I have a cousin who is 25 and she has Down syndrome, she was sexually abused by a “friend” of her mother about 2 years ago and got pregnant. She did have her baby but she can’t care for her baby at all she can’t even hold be alone, her mother has to care for the baby. Even though it does seem cruel to force someone to be sterilized but in a way I think it is for their own good and safety. I think the person who is responsible for making the health related decisions for them should decide if the person should be sterilized.
I honestly had no idea that people in the U.S. have been forced to be sterilized. When the discussion was brought up in class, I was so shocked and the fact that it didn’t happen too long ago was so sad. When I read about Carrie buck’s story, I was so upset. She’s so young and had good grades and seemed to be such a bright young girl. It’s unfortunate to know that the U.S. was so ignorant towards people in general; the deaf, disabled, orphans, homeless and etc. It makes you wonder what standards you had to meet back then.
In the article regarding the woman of Uzbek who have gone through forced sterilization, I was extremely shocked and a bit horrified. Many of these women who have been forced to be sterilized are poor and have conditions that are hard to treat, like TB, HIV and drug addictions. I myself am not pro forced sterilization. I believe everyone has a right to their own body and a right to a say in ending the possible chances of having more kids. I think it’s tragic that these women have gone through the procedure with hopes of having more kids or in general not having their first.
I don’t believe that making these kinds of decisions for another person is ethical at all under any circumstances. If there really is such a big concern about the population, then all women of Uzbek should be well educated on the procedure and know all risk that could accompany it and if any of them want to do it after knowing everything about it; then that’s their choice in the end. There for, no one should take that away from them. It’s really sad to read that this is one of the only ways that the Uzbek government emphasizes a means of birth control.
What I found that was really shocking was to read that some nurses and health clinic staff need to meet a certain quota to get paid in full. These women that are being forced are sometimes threatened with their lives. The whole matter is just wrong! Women that have the ability to reproduce were born with that right. It’s unethical to take that right away from them.
To learn about this policy of forced sterilization of women being directed straight down from the top government officials is shocking. This is also especially appalling because these women have had hysterectomies performed on them. This fact I find disturbing because it is terribly invasive and painful procedure and has been virtually replaced by tubal ligations, at least in modernized countries. Also disturbing in this case is the fact that the policy here is forced on women who are from poor, rural areas, especially those with HIV, TB or drug addiction, and those who already have children. As the healthcare workers interviewed stated, forced sterilization has always been part of their lexicon. I have a really hard time trying to understand this mentality. I just do not understand why when numerous options exist for contraceptive use that, Uzbekistan authorities promote exclusively the use of sterilization as an option for birth control. It is very hard for me to imagine rational people making and supporting this policy of forced sterilization for their own people by a procedure that can be dehumanizing or de-feminizing. The predominant religion(s) in the region are Islamic first, then Christian (Russian). In research I have done, I found that most forms of Islam are pretty open to forms of birth control (contraceptives). Also, it is common for Orthodox Christian churches to be more accepting of such practices too. Given these facts, it seems pretty clear that this policy does not originate with the religious leaders. Consequently, it really makes me wonder why this is the only accepted method of birth control by the government. When it comes to financial resources, Uzbekistan is definitely poor and not modernized. So it makes me wonder why they are wasting resources on these surgeries (requiring hospitalizations) that certainly cost more money than contraceptives.
Equally shocking, is the fact that these policies of forced sterilization are not so foreign to the United States either. The article points out that nearly anybody could be involuntarily sterilized in 1920’s-30’s if they fell under the label of: feebleminded, insane, criminalistic, epileptic, inebriate, diseased, blind, deaf; deformed; and dependent – including orphans, ne'er-do-wells, tramps, the homeless and paupers. I find this shocking because, on one hand we like to think of ourselves as (Americans) much more civilized than this, and on the other hand, because I like to take pride in my knowledge of U.S. history, and have yet to ever hear about these practices. In both of these articles it becomes clear that the government(s) have often thought (think) of the people as subjects to be ruled and dictated on rather than benevolently governed. The practice of forced sterilization continued in the US on the mentally ill and retarded through the mid-1970’s. Of course attitudes, norms, mores, values etc. change throughout the passage of time, however it still makes me cringe to think that in our country people were once treated like animals because they fell into one of the groups mentioned above. Also upsetting is although this policy has been abandoned in the US, policies of the like persist today in many parts of the world (as illustrated in Uzbekistan).
Forced sterilization
Discuss the issue of reproductive control including ethical considerations of mandatory sterilization policies.
The women from Uzbekistan are but a small amount of women in other countries being treated the same way under barbaric laws. When you have the idea that a woman is less of a person just because she is female and not as strong as the men who force these barbaric rituals on the poor and weakest in our society, then you are taking away a person’s God given rights. No government should be allowed to perform operations on its citizens without their consent and complete understanding. While we now criticize the procedure, it was not long ago that we were doing the same thing to our citizens in this country. As long as the poor and “weak-minded” are treated like less than human is our world this atrocity and many just like it will continue to go on unstopped.
We as Americans are just as bad it has only been twenty years since we stopped doing the same thing to our citizens that we considered second-class. It is a person’s God given right to have children or to not have children. No, doctor or judge has the right to force someone to undergo any form of procedure to alter or terminate his or her ability to reproduce.
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