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Indigenous women in Canada are forced to be sterilized after giving birth

by Ainsley Ingram

Several Indigenous Canadian women have testified before the Senate Human Rights Committee that they were forced to undergo sterilization procedures after giving birth in hospitals, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

According to a newspaper report, two of the three main plaintiffs told the committee this week of their experiences in a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Indigenous women who say they were forcibly sterilized in Saskatchewan.

One, a 49-year-old Cree woman named Sylvia Tuckanow, said she was sterilized against her will after giving birth in July 2001 in Saskatoon.

She said she didn’t sign any consent forms and after the procedure she felt like she wasn’t a “whole woman.”

Canadian parliamentarians have already heard expert testimony on the forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women.

In 2021, the Senate Committee on Human Rights published a report stating that the prevalence of forced sterilization was underestimated and rendered invisible.

The report adds that other vulnerable and marginalized groups, in addition to indigenous women, have also been affected, such as women with disabilities and inmates in residences, according to the newspaper. (N / A)

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