FACILITY HAD GIRLS STERILIZED
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 12, 2000

SENS, FRANCE--A home which had publicly prided itself on its "healthy lack
of institutional restraints" has secretly had fourteen girls with
developmental disabilities undergo hysterectomies within the last five
years, claims a lawyer for a disability group.

Pierre Gonzales de Gaspard, attorney for a local association for people with
developmental disabilities known as ADHY, yesterday filed a formal request
for an investigation into the alleged practices by Aid through Work Centre,
a residential facility about 31 kilometers (50 miles) south of Paris. ADHY
says the girls were taken for the operations by an unidentified nurse from
the home to five different hospitals in the region. They were never told the
true purpose of the surgeries, the group claims. At least one care assistant
and a parent support the allegations.

"We are not making these accusations lightly," ADHY chairman, Pierre Manoir,
told the Guardian Unlimited.

Under French law, sterilization of men and women may only be performed in
cases of medical necessity, and only after a thorough examination and
consultation with the patient, the family or legal guardians, and the
doctor.

The director of the Aid through Work Centre, which allows men and women to
interact freely, has declined to comment on the allegations.
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Dave Reynolds, Editor
Inclusion Daily Express
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