Chicanas and the issue of involuntary sterilization: reforms needed to protect informed consent.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to inform the public and its government representatives about practices which have caused the involuntary sterilization of Chicanas. These unauthorized medical practices have occurred within the area presently governed by laws which sanction voluntary sterilization. The right to procure a voluntary sterilization is not challenged, but the duty to provide an opportunity to render informed consent is in need of more stringent guarantees. In too many instances women have been coerced into undergoing sterilization surgery without their informed consent. Most of the areas to be reviewed involve women who are poor, usually on welfare, and of a racial minority. With respect to Chicanas an additional element, lack of English fluency, deserves considerable attention. Furthermore, any concrete form of analysis cannot ignore the fact that women eligible for welfare not only must contend with the doctor-patient relationship, but also with government participation- At present, the federal and state governments provide substantial assistance to hospitals and women unable to afford medical care on their own. Consequently, doctors and hospitals which receive government subsidies to perform sterilization surgery, but violate a patient's right to informed consent, not only violate existing government regulations but raise the issue of inadequate government enforcement. A thorough examination of this topic would not be complete without some understanding of the attitudes which cause unwanted sterilizations. Special focus will be directed toward the ethical beliefs held by many medical practitioners, and the transference of these beliefs into nationwide practice. The interrelationship between government and the medical profession also requires some mention of the Supreme Court decision in Buck v. Bell.' A state