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Uterus collectors

The case for reproductive justice for African American, Native American, and Hispanic American female victims of eugenics programs in the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID21504699
AuthorsEric Smaw (0000-0001-8558-5770, Rollins College Winter Park Florida USA, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume36
Issue3
Pages318-327
Publication date2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-9702 • E-ISSN: 1467-8519
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bioe.12977
PMID34897765
OpenAlexW4200124956
LanguageEN
Citations received3

In this article, I offer historical, jurisprudential, and moral analyses of racial eugenics campaigns against African American, Native American, and Hispanic American women. I argue that African American, Native American, and Hispanic American women were sterilized at a time in US history when doctors working for/with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Indian Health Service, and Medicaid engaged in forced and coerced sterilizations with impunity. As a result, Black and Brown women did not have equal protection of the laws nor unimpeded access to the courts. Therefore, they had few options for protecting themselves from harm or redressing their grievances against the state. For these reasons, I conclude that African American, Native American, and Hispanic American women who were sterilized without their knowledge or consent by doctors working for public health agencies ought to be awarded reparations by the United States Congress. Additionally, I conclude that federal prosecutors and the American Medical Association ought to bring criminal charges and professional sanctions against the doctors and healthcare workers involved. Finally, I conclude that medical professionals ought to engage in a nationwide effort to reconcile people in Black and Brown communities with the healthcare community in the United States

Criminology · Eugenics · Harm · Health care · Medicaid · Political science · Sociology · Law · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Technologies

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Unique citing works3
Citations per year3
Citation span2025 - 2026 (2)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3

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