Summary: Ethical Considerations Of Sterilization
Ethical Considerations of Sterilization
Introduction
Sterilization, through tubal ligations, Essure, and vasectomies to name a few, is a common procedure in modern medicine. With almost 40% of people choosing sterilization as their birth control, sterilization is the most common method of contraception in the United States.1 Though now very popular way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, there are many ethical deliberations of sterilization due to its permanence, removal of one of the most widely accepted human rights, the right to reproduce, and its history. Within this paper, I will give a brief overview of the history, core considerations of sterilization on human autonomy, and delve into a few populations that require special attention. …show more content…
By the early 1900s, bilateral tubal ligations as they’re known today were beginning to be performed. Various methods were experimented with, including cauterization, laparoscopy, clips, and sutures. The result of this was increasing rates of tubal ligations as a means of contraception. Unfortunately, for many years, this new method of permanent contraception was not used voluntarily, but rather for populations that were deemed to be “lesser.” The use of sterilization was largely used as a tool in eugenics. At the same time that sterilization was being experimented with, eugenics was gaining popularity. Coined in the late 1800s by Francis Galton, eugenics is the idea that certain qualities should predominate over others, and that those that possess those traits should produce more offspring over those who do not.2 There are two ways to accomplish this; positive eugenics requires those who possess the traits (intelligence, social class, talent, et cetera) to have more children than those who do not. Negative eugenics, on the other hand, requires those that do not have the desired traits to have less …show more content…
The ethics of human sterilization are complex because of its permanence, implications on autonomy, and its dark history. At the root of the matter is the violation of multiple human rights when one is sterilized involuntarily, with coercion, or without the appropriate knowledge. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by representatives from different countries, religions, and cultures met in Paris to declare universal fundamental human rights to be protected.6 This document was fundamental, as no such document had been created and accepted so widely before. Sterilization, when done without consent, violates several of those rights, including the right to information, the right to health, and the right to have a family. In fact, this has been so widely accepted and acknowledged to the point that several organizations, including the World Health Organization and multiple branches of the United Nations came together to create a statement about the violation of rights that occurs with forced, coerced, or uninformed sterilization
Introduction
Sterilization, through tubal ligations, Essure, and vasectomies to name a few, is a common procedure in modern medicine. With almost 40% of people choosing sterilization as their birth control, sterilization is the most common method of contraception in the United States.1 Though now very popular way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, there are many ethical deliberations of sterilization due to its permanence, removal of one of the most widely accepted human rights, the right to reproduce, and its history. Within this paper, I will give a brief overview of the history, core considerations of sterilization on human autonomy, and delve into a few populations that require special attention. …show more content…
By the early 1900s, bilateral tubal ligations as they’re known today were beginning to be performed. Various methods were experimented with, including cauterization, laparoscopy, clips, and sutures. The result of this was increasing rates of tubal ligations as a means of contraception. Unfortunately, for many years, this new method of permanent contraception was not used voluntarily, but rather for populations that were deemed to be “lesser.” The use of sterilization was largely used as a tool in eugenics. At the same time that sterilization was being experimented with, eugenics was gaining popularity. Coined in the late 1800s by Francis Galton, eugenics is the idea that certain qualities should predominate over others, and that those that possess those traits should produce more offspring over those who do not.2 There are two ways to accomplish this; positive eugenics requires those who possess the traits (intelligence, social class, talent, et cetera) to have more children than those who do not. Negative eugenics, on the other hand, requires those that do not have the desired traits to have less …show more content…
The ethics of human sterilization are complex because of its permanence, implications on autonomy, and its dark history. At the root of the matter is the violation of multiple human rights when one is sterilized involuntarily, with coercion, or without the appropriate knowledge. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by representatives from different countries, religions, and cultures met in Paris to declare universal fundamental human rights to be protected.6 This document was fundamental, as no such document had been created and accepted so widely before. Sterilization, when done without consent, violates several of those rights, including the right to information, the right to health, and the right to have a family. In fact, this has been so widely accepted and acknowledged to the point that several organizations, including the World Health Organization and multiple branches of the United Nations came together to create a statement about the violation of rights that occurs with forced, coerced, or uninformed sterilization