Mentally ill woman coerced into sterilisation by Xiao Zen 2015/03/01 04:42
Eunice Diaz de La Vega suffers from schizophrenia (a mental illness that can cause visual and auditory hallucinations & an altered perception of reality. One that can be managed fairly easily with medication and therapy), a treatment program that Eunice follows.
So when she did, to her delight, fall pregnant she consulted her psychiatrist in Mexico City to discuss the challenges involved and any lifestyle adjustments she may need to make. "No one asked me or even looked at me" she said, the Psychiatrist merely said "She has to abort". Now five years later, having kept her daughter despite medical and familial pressure, she is part of an advocacy group for the rights of the people with mental illness.
According to the findings of international rights groups 42% of women surveyed said they had been coerced or forced into sterilization or abortion by their doctors or family. A further 43% of women who had visited a gynecologist had suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse. These women receive little support from the government or society in general.
Although doctors and nurses interviewed claimed each decision to sterilize or abort is decided on a case by case basis they admitted that mental ill women were often pressured into the procedure in a process one doctor described as "bombardment".
The doctors reasoning? Officially it is that mothers with psychiatric disabilities could possibly pass on their illness to the children. “There’s a lack of education not just for families and patients, but also for doctors and we need to take this issue more seriously. There should be legislation and at least a medical policy to offer training on patients' rights." says Dr. Miriam de la Llera, a local psychologist. She went on to say doctors often see sterilization as a quick and easy solution to an issue they do not have the support or training to deal with more moderately.
Disability rights international has a more disturbing theory however, that within closed door institutions sterilization exists to avoid the pregnancies that are the result of the all too common abuse these women suffer.
Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2015/02/mexico-mentally-ill-women-sterilisation-150227024620279.html
Eunice Diaz de La Vega suffers from schizophrenia (a mental illness that can cause visual and auditory hallucinations & an altered perception of reality. One that can be managed fairly easily with medication and therapy), a treatment program that Eunice follows.
So when she did, to her delight, fall pregnant she consulted her psychiatrist in Mexico City to discuss the challenges involved and any lifestyle adjustments she may need to make. "No one asked me or even looked at me" she said, the Psychiatrist merely said "She has to abort". Now five years later, having kept her daughter despite medical and familial pressure, she is part of an advocacy group for the rights of the people with mental illness.
According to the findings of international rights groups 42% of women surveyed said they had been coerced or forced into sterilization or abortion by their doctors or family. A further 43% of women who had visited a gynecologist had suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse. These women receive little support from the government or society in general.
Although doctors and nurses interviewed claimed each decision to sterilize or abort is decided on a case by case basis they admitted that mental ill women were often pressured into the procedure in a process one doctor described as "bombardment".
The doctors reasoning? Officially it is that mothers with psychiatric disabilities could possibly pass on their illness to the children. “There’s a lack of education not just for families and patients, but also for doctors and we need to take this issue more seriously. There should be legislation and at least a medical policy to offer training on patients' rights." says Dr. Miriam de la Llera, a local psychologist. She went on to say doctors often see sterilization as a quick and easy solution to an issue they do not have the support or training to deal with more moderately.
Disability rights international has a more disturbing theory however, that within closed door institutions sterilization exists to avoid the pregnancies that are the result of the all too common abuse these women suffer.
Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2015/02/mexico-mentally-ill-women-sterilisation-150227024620279.html
detrimentum 2015/03/01 06:53
wow, that's hectic. If the decease is manageable why not? If its not, or the woman has a history of not taking her medicine then she shouldn't have a child, unless the father is capable of looking after both . ( shutter island comes to mind ). But sterilization is a bit hectic, birth control will suffice.
wow, that's hectic. If the decease is manageable why not? If its not, or the woman has a history of not taking her medicine then she shouldn't have a child, unless the father is capable of looking after both . ( shutter island comes to mind ). But sterilization is a bit hectic, birth control will suffice.
Georginia 2015/03/04 01:44
Sterilization not a necessity if someone take care of mentally ill patient.
Sterilization not a necessity if someone take care of mentally ill patient.
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