Reproductive Rights Issues

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While reproductive rights of women in the United States are frequently discussed in conversations throughout today’s political, feminist, and mainstream news, one group often left out of these discussions is that of disabled individuals. Stemming from a history of eugenics, people with intellectual and other disabilities often faced forced or coerced sterilizations—a practice that still continues to this day. In fact, disabled women remain the population most at risk of being subjected to such eugenic practices (Foley, 2012). Disabled individuals who do have children often lose custody of them, while many also lack the resources to properly fight such custody battles. Such legal and medical procedures are not necessarily in the best interests …show more content…
Feminists in politics and research and proponents of reproductive rights have a duty to study and discuss in whose best interests these medical and legal procedures truly are and if these actions around disabled individuals’ reproductive and parenting rights should be ethically permitted. Feminist debate in this area could also help lead to further scrutiny of the medical model of disability and towards a better understanding of disabled individuals’ unique reproductive health care needs. Such discussions can hopefully ultimately lead to further understanding and ethical legal application of disabled individuals’ rights around reproduction and …show more content…
Doctors have also noted support for sterilization of disabled women who are considered to be vulnerable to sexual abuse, who are unable to independently manage sexual hygiene, and who display hypersexuality (Chou & Lu, 2011; Gilmore & Malcolm, 2014). The issue of sexual abuse has been echoed by parents of the disabled who request sterilization of the child, but it is important to keep in mind that sterilization will not prevent such abuse. Parents also cite the concerns about menstrual management and inappropriate sexual behavior as reasons for approaching doctors regarding sterilization of a disabled child; though not necessarily practical in every case, less intrusive and nonpermanent ways of attending to these issues may be available, such as intra uterine devices or the contraceptive pill. These alternatives consist of not only other pharmacological methods, but additional support services and sexual education that may be useful in addressing these concerns. If the individuals lack the capacity to make such decisions, then any treatment should be carried out only when it is truly determined to be in their best interests (Foley, 2012; Gilmore & Malcolm,
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