While surfing the web to find out a little more about Native American culture, I came across information that I found unbelieveable. It was shocking for me to learn that in the 1970s, U.S. doctors forced sterilization and abortions on Native American women! Of course I had known about unethical practices performed on minority populations in the late 1800s and in the first half of the twentieth century… but in the 1970s??? What may be the most horrific part of the investigations was the discovery that it was physicians and healthcare professionals in the Indian Health Service who coerced these women. These healthcare professionals’ coercive tactics included the threat of taking custody of the women’s children (the ones already born) or refusal of any healthcare provisions for them in the future. Many doctors were paid by the U.S. government (by contract) every time they performed a sterilization.
I listened to the audio file below and learned a great deal about this subject. I hope you are able to download the file. It is about 20-25 minutes long but well worth listening to.
The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity also published an essay about this topic by an MD named Gregory W. Rutecki. I have provided the link to the essay below.