User:Escworld27916/Sterilization of Native American women

copied from "Sterilization of Native American Women"

The Indian Health Services

The Indian Health Services (IHS) is a government organization created in 1955 to help combat poor health and living conditions of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The IHS still exists in the United States, and is a blend of various organizations created to combat specific health problems for Native American and Alaskan Natives. The IHS's website states that "the IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 573 federally recognized tribes in 37 states." Through out the years, the organization has changed it values, at first "When IHS had first started it was known to be a great cause". The organization saw fewer deaths from diseases and infant mortality drop, which resulted in an increase in the Indian population"but then it changed. In 1955, Congress had given IHS the responsibility of providing these health services, but at the time they didn't have enough physicians to conduct safe and proper procedures. After raising the pay for physicians' wages, safety improved, in 1965, they began to provide family planning services like birth control, intrauterine device, spermicidal jellies, cream, and sterilization which ultimately led to the practice of sterilization. But the practice, was not done safely and under consent from patients. “After many accusations of consent sterilization congress had passed stricter consent form to protect women from involuntary sterilization but accusations soon arose that the IHS was sterilizing women without their informed consent and was not following new HEW regulations which lead to an investigation on sterilization and experimental drugs on the reservation in April 1975” and "showed that the IHS had not followed necessary regulations and consent forms were not met with new regulations.

The history of forced sterilization in the United States

The principle that sanctions compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes." The case had the effect of legitimizing existing sterilization laws, resulting in greater acceptance of the practice. After Carrie's court case it was seen as a positive eugenic attitude, so 26 more states passed laws allowing involuntary sterilization. During the 1960s and 70s as sterilization practices increased there was no legislation that prohibited it and it was seen as a viable form of contraception. Other than the eugenic movement, "the government concern over the growing population" greatly impacted the history of forced sterilization "during the late 1960's." President Lyndon B. Johnson’s previous War on Poverty reflected fear that world resources would not be able to provide for the future population. Political and social pressures to limit family size and push sterilization helped lead to the new Office of Economic Opportunity, an organization that sought federal funds to provide not only education and training to the poor, but also a less well-known service: contraception. The Family Planning Act of 1970 passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 298 to thirty-two.” which funded sterilization for minority women.

Motivations

This was a pamphlet created by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to urge Native American women to have fewer children. The left shows how the parents would be before adopting promoted family planning practices (tired and with little resources) and afterwards (happy and wealthy).

Native American women were not the only individuals to be subjected to forced sterilizations; black and poor women were also affected by these practices. In the 1970s, after being forced onto reservations by the United States government, or relocated into urban areas without adequate support, many Native Americans were struggling with poverty. Native American people depended on government organizations like the IHS, Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The Indian Health Service (IHS) was their main health provider. Because Native Americans were dependent on these government organizations for health services, they were more at risk for forced sterilization than other groups. “The U.S government targeted American Indians for family planning because of their high birth rate.”