WUNRN
Direct Link to 12-Page Document on
Forced Sterilization Worldwide:
October 4, 2011
Women worldwide have been forced or coerced by medical
personnel to submit to permanent and irreversible sterilization procedures. Despite
condemnation from the United Nations, cases of forced and coerced sterilization
have been reported in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and
Forced and coerced sterilizations are grave violations of medical ethics and
can be described as acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment. Forcefully ending a woman’s reproductive capacity may lead to
extreme social isolation, family discord or abandonment, fear of medical
professionals, and lifelong grief.
This Open Society Foundations fact sheet provides information on instances of
forced sterilization of racial and ethnic minorities, poor women, women living
with HIV, and women with disabilities. It also provides recommendations for
governments, medical professionals, UN agencies, and donors to end the practice
of forced and coerced sterilization.