How recently are you talking about, Kendall? Because my state -- NC -- has
been in the news recently for its eugenics program which lasted well into
the 1970s. Both men and women were sterialised for any reason, even for
"seeming fast"! Our governor, Mike Easley has made this a major issue and
he apologised on the behalf of the state. It's interesting to note that a
member of staff of the local med school did not show any remorse for his
role on the board of eugenics (the one that determined who would be
sterialised).
Personally, I remember that when I was at uni, a younger year student who
had been paralysed in a car crash and was in a wheelchair, got pregnant by
her able-bodied boyfriend. Her parents freaked out, made her get an
abortion, and she was pulled from the school - all of which made me angry
on her behalf. I remember my parents telling me they didn't want to see me
get pregnant, not because I wouldn't be able to but because if I were an
unmarried mother, I'd find it very difficult to finish school unmarried and
with a baby (which is good advice in general, not just for disabled women).
In any case, no one ever told me I couldn't get married or have children. I
simply chose not to because I'm not particularly maternal and don't feel
any need to have children.
Reproductive rights is a very important issue for *all* women, not just
disabled ones.
Kat
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Kendall David Corbett [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 11:48:58 -0600
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Reproductive freedom
The reason I was interested in knowing where and when this happened was
to find out if it's still going on, or happened recently, and if so, if
it's education that needs to be undertaken nationally, or if there are a
few "boneheads" out there that we may never reach. I'm including both
my sig files in this, because I'm interested both personally and
professionally. My wife did a presentation at a conference in late
March where the topic came up, and the consensus seemed to be that while
there were a few isolated instances of this "advice," in general, it
wasn't an issue. I'd like to find out if that's true.
Our family doc and Janet's OB/GYN have been very supportive of our
attempts to start a family.
Kendall Corbett
An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
Kendall Corbett
Coordinator of Consumer Activities
Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities - WIND
College of Health Sciences
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Avenue, Dept. 4298
Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 766-2853
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 6:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: new member intro and some well-meant comments...
In a message dated 05/10/2005 16:10:07 Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Mike,
Where are you, and how recently were you told by that "doctor" that you
should be sterilized? My Mom did her nurses training in the late 40's
at a University where girls with disabilities (but not boys) were
routinely sterilized until the 60's. Interestingly enough, my wife, as
a kid, attended the Hospital School at that same university during the
summer until she was 12 or so for PT, OT, and Speech because the little
town she lived in didn't have those services.
Kendall Corbett
This is what I was replying to. I never had a case manager. I learned
how
to do everything on my own.
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