Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Indigenous Peoples: Considerations for Health Care Providers.

  • Citation: Black, Kristin A., Rebecca Rich, and Cassandra Felske-Durksen. “Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Indigenous Peoples: Considerations for Health Care Providers.” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, 2021
    • Topics:
    • Human Rights
    • Keywords:
    • forced sterilization
    • eugenics
    • Canada
    • North America
    • indigenous peoples

Forced and coerced sterilization refers to the provision of permanent contraception without true informed consent. In Canada, this topic is particularly relevant to Indigenous Peoples because of this country’s history of racialized eugenics programs. In this commentary, we briefly review the history of forced and coerced sterilization in Canada, describe the clinical considerations for health care providers who work with Indigenous patients in this context, and outline calls to action for health care providers and organizations to support the provision of culturally appropriate reproductive health care to Indigenous people.