Medicaid Sterilization

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STERILIZATION FOR THOSE ON MEDICAID Is sterilization for those on Medicaid, correct? Or is it unethical? This is a topic that for many years has been controversial. History of sterilization for women without their consent goes way back when U.S. women of color were victims of forced sterilization. Some women were sterilized during C-sections and they were never told. Other women were threatened with termination of welfare benefits or denial of medical care if they didn’t consent to the procedure (Garcia, 2013). In the late 1970s, in an effort to protect women’s reproductive rights, federal legislation preventing sterilization of women without their consent was passed. One of the most important features of this legislation is that it applies …show more content…

Pearce made a comment on a radio show stating the following “You put me in charge of Medicaid, the first thing I’d do is get female recipients Norplant, birth-control implants, or tubal ligations,” according to the Phoenix New Times. He also mentioned that people out there who need help should get it from the family, church, and community, not the government (Lavender, 2014). Eugenics programs have tried for many years to force sterilization for both men and women who are not financially capable to raise more children on their own, without the government’s help. Eugenics programs are mass birth control programs used to reduce the birth rates of certain classes, castes or ethnic groups (BBC, 2014). It’s illegal to sterilize a person either a man or women just because they depend on the government’s helps, in this case, Medicaid. It violates that person’s right for autonomy. People have the right to seek, accept, or refuse sterilization and respecting a person’s right for autonomy means that no one can force them or impose sterilization for them (ACOG, 2007). Programs and certain people will still continue to try to change this right for autonomy as the years pass, but as for now, it’s unethical and illegal to do so and there’s no limit to how many children a person who is on Medicaid can

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