TY - JOUR
T1 - Federally funded sterilization
T2 - Time to rethink policy?
AU - Borrero, Sonya
AU - Zite, Nikki
AU - Creinin, Mitchell D
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - In the 1970s, concern about coercive sterilization of low-income and minority women in the United States led the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to create strict regulations for federally funded sterilization procedures. Although these policies were instituted to secure informed consent and protect women from involuntary sterilization, there are significant data indicating that these policies may not, in fact, ensure that consent is truly informed and, further, may prevent many low-income women fromgetting a desired sterilization procedure. Given the alarmingly high rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, especially among low-income populations, we feel that restrictive federal sterilization policies should be reexamined and modified to simultaneously ensure informed decisionmaking and honor women's reproductive choices.
AB - In the 1970s, concern about coercive sterilization of low-income and minority women in the United States led the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to create strict regulations for federally funded sterilization procedures. Although these policies were instituted to secure informed consent and protect women from involuntary sterilization, there are significant data indicating that these policies may not, in fact, ensure that consent is truly informed and, further, may prevent many low-income women fromgetting a desired sterilization procedure. Given the alarmingly high rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, especially among low-income populations, we feel that restrictive federal sterilization policies should be reexamined and modified to simultaneously ensure informed decisionmaking and honor women's reproductive choices.
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300850
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300850
M3 - Article
C2 - 22897531
AN - SCOPUS:84866324538
VL - 102
SP - 1822
EP - 1825
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
SN - 0090-0036
IS - 10
ER -