(CESA) in New York City. The group conducted research into the government’s racist population-control policies, exposing to the public the disproportionately high numbers of Black and Native American women who had been sterilized since the 1940s. The National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) also brought attention to the failure of to protect public assistance recipients from threats that “sterilization regulations they would lose their welfare funds if they declined a sterilization procedure.” Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) issued new regulations that funded sterilization of any incompetent persons prohibited “federally without their However, a survey of teaching hospitals in 1975 ‘un-coerced’ consent.” conducted by the American Civil that 40 percent of Liberties Union (ACLU) “discovered those institutions were not even aware of these regulations issued by HEW. Only 30 percent of the hospitals examined by the ACLU were even attempting to comply with the guidelines.” In addition to scrutinizing the population control policies, government’s racist African-American women introduced advocacy against sterilization abuse into the Reproductive Rights Movement of the 1980s. Women of color called for an alternative definition of reproductive freedom. While the emphasis of white activist work women’s was pro-legal abortion, women of color argued that they also need to safe, “access effective birth control methods as well as protection from coercive birth control policies.” African-American women argued that they were in need of better social services and that they deserved the right to raise their children of These women articulated “out poverty.” that coercive sterilization robbed women of and violated “their individual liberty” of bodily integrity and reproductive African-American women “principles choice.”
(CESA) in New York City. The group conducted research into the government’s racist population-control policies, exposing to the public the disproportionately high numbers of Black and Native American women who had been sterilized since the 1940s. The National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) also brought attention to the failure of “sterilization regulations to protect public assistance recipients from threats that they would lose their welfare funds if they declined a sterilization procedure.” Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) issued new regulations that prohibited “federally funded sterilization of any incompetent persons without their ‘un-coerced’ consent.” However, a survey of teaching hospitals in 1975 conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) “discovered that 40 percent of those institutions were not even aware of these regulations issued by HEW. Only 30 percent of the hospitals examined by the ACLU were even attempting to comply with the guidelines.” In addition to scrutinizing the government’s racist population control policies, African-American women introduced advocacy against sterilization abuse into the Reproductive Rights Movement of the 1980s. Women of color called for an alternative definition of reproductive freedom. While the emphasis of white women’s activist work was pro-legal abortion, women of color argued that they also need “access to safe, effective birth control methods as well as protection from coercive birth control policies.” African-American women argued that they were in need of better social services and that they deserved the right to raise their children “out of poverty.” These women articulated that coercive sterilization robbed women of “their individual liberty” and violated “principles of bodily integrity and reproductive choice.” African-American women
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