State Investigates Sterilization of Native Americans in ’70s
Jean Whitehorse testifies about the forced sterilization of Native American women at a UN forum in 2019. Whitehouse says she received a tubal ligation without her knowledge when she went to a hospital in New Mexico at age 22. (Keely Badger via AP)
In the 1970s, a U.S. government health agency responsible for providing medical care to Native Americans carried out sterilizations on thousands of women without their full, informed consent, leaving many unable to have children. Decades later, the state of New Mexico is preparing to investigate that history and its lasting effects, according to Associated Press reporting.
This week, the New Mexico Legislature approved a measure directing the state Indian Affairs Department and the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women to study the history, scale, and ongoing impact of forced or coerced sterilizations of women of color by the Indian Health Service and other providers. Their findings are due to the governor by the end of 2027.
Lawmakers also began steps toward creating a separate commission to support survivors and to formally acknowledge a little-known chapter of history that continues to affect Native families. Aside from a 1976 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the federal government has never formally recognized what Sarah Deer of the University of Kansas School of Law has described as a “systemic” sterilization campaign in Native communities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service did not respond to requests for comment.
The full AP report includes accounts from women affected by the program, including Jean Whitehorse, who said she underwent a tubal ligation at a New Mexico hospital in 1972 without her knowledge.
About Post Author
