I’ve worked in mental hospitals and prisons for over 30 years as an RN..Part of that time I worked with pregnant patients who had drug problems, mental problems, that prevented them from behaving like responsible parents..I also worked with children who were victims of fetal alcohol syndrome, and other drug related problems..I wish sometimes we had a way to prevent these atrocities from happening…I know this is a touchy subject..just wanted to hear some thoughts on the subject..
A history of Compulsory Sterilization from wikipedia..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization
Here’s one communities attempt at solving the problem..
Organization Pays Addicted Women to Undergo Permanent Sterilization
A Tennessee non-profit organization is paying drug addicts and alcoholics to undergo sterilization or long-term contraception. Seriously.Cash for birth control may sound unusual, but it’s one woman’s crusade to stop drug addicts and alcoholics from giving birth.
Barbara Harris started “Project Prevention” after watching her four adopted children struggle with drug addiction at birth. Now teens, they’re helping spread her message across the United States.
Parked under a downtown Knoxville overpass Wednesday night sat a 30-foot RV with bold pictures on the outside of it.
The same people who drove it here passed out flyers and talked to anyone who would listen.
“My heart is for the children. These women have a choice, but children don’t,” Harris explains.
The organization pays women who are drug addicts or alcoholics a one time amount of $300 to get permanent birth control.
If they choose to get long-term birth control, $300 is paid out each year they use it.
Men can also get involved and get a one time amount of $300 for having a vasectomy.Documented proof of a drug addiction or alcohol problem is mandatory to qualify.
More thoughts on this subject here..
From the above link..
What we’re looking at here is the exploitation of a vulnerable population of women. (While the program is open to men, less than 1% of those who have taken the deal have actually been men.) Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a whole lot of people who aren’t currently interested in permanent birth control who would suddenly become interested for a rather lousy $300. I can only imagine, in fact, that someone would take such a deal only if they were incredibly desperate for money (and not only because of addiction, but also because of unbearable living expenses, etc.).
And so when Harris dismisses the question of women using their $300 to buy drugs with “it’s their choice,” I really feel nothing but revulsion for her. When we’re talking about handing money to someone on the street, I agree with her — moralizing your decision to not give someone $5 as because they might spend it in ways you don’t like is pretty wrong. But taking something — something serious — from a person for a fairly small amount of money, knowing that they’re likely only doing it because they lack other options, and then doing it anyway? That’s an entirely different ballgame altogether.
Of course, they want us to believe that this is about the babies and not about preventing “undesirable” women from having children. Obviously we’re just supposed to forget the whole history of forcibly sterilizing women of color and poor women and women with disabilities. This is different, you see.
Look, I think it’s pretty damn clear that no one wants babies to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome or other drug exposure related conditions. No one thinks that taking drugs or drinking to excess during pregnancy is a good idea — though it is worth repeated reminding that the crack baby myth is just that, a myth. As far as I’m aware, there’s no one out there who opposes finding ways to prevent negative effects from exposure to addictive substances in the womb — and quite often those looking at prevention do so not only because of concern over infants, but because of the fact that women taking the substances are experiencing negative effects, too.
