#ForcedSterilization is a worldwide problem!

As #Japan starts compensation payments, #ForcedSterilisation continues around the world

#NonConsensual #sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior persists in some parts of the world today

by Ewan Bolton, 18 February 2025

"Just last week, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan, the local governor met victims of an official eugenics policy to apologise for the suffering they underwent.

"'On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for the immense suffering caused to the 900 (victims),' said Murai Yoshihiro while lowering his head.

"For many, the words 'forced sterilisation' bring to mind #NaziGermany and the devastating #eugenic policies pursued by #fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. But the non-consensual sterilisation of those considered genetically inferior continued through the 20th century and persists in some parts of the world today.

"In January, victims of Japan’s forced sterilisation programme were finally able to apply for compensation for the first time. Between 1948 and 1996, at least 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised in Japan under the country’s #EugenicProtectionLaw. Nearly 60,000 more underwent #abortions without, or with only dubious consent. Most were mentally handicapped people or those with hereditary diseases.

"As Japan finally addresses this legacy, victims of forced sterilisation in #Peru are still fighting for compensation after 370,000 people were sterilised in what the UN has described as a potential crime against humanity. And in the #UnitedStates, #India, #China and parts of #Europe, non-consensual sterilisations continue to this day.

"As with the Nazis, almost all cases can be traced back to the discredited #PseudoScience of eugenics which was developed in the #UK at around the turn of the last century and had many supporters, including #WinstonChurchill.

"Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law was introduced in the wake of World War II. It granted medical institutions the right to administer sterilisations and abortions without the consent of patients. Of the 25,000 people sterilised under the programme, according to government figures only 8,000 gave consent. The legitimacy of the consent in these cases is disputed.

"A large number of the victims were children, some as young as nine years old. In Miyagi prefecture, in the northwest of the main island, more than half of the 859 sterilised between 1963 and 1981 were under the age of 18.

"At a press conference last month in Hyogo prefecture, a #DeafWoman, now in her 80s, described the emotional pain of being given an abortion without her consent. 'I was taken to the hospital, and I thought I would be going to the general medicine department. I was very surprised because I was taken to the gynaecology department … I am unable to forget what happened at that time'.

"In her prefecture alone, there are '14 or 15 other [#DeafPeople] who suffered harm' that are known about, 'but there are undoubtedly more', said Yoshimichi Hongo, chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Association for the Deaf."

Read more:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/as-japan-starts-compensation-payments-forced-sterilisation/
#WorldPol #reproductiverights #Fascism #BodilyAutomony #DisabledPeople #ReproductiveAutonomy #Sterilization #Genocide