Blog 5

 

 

S.Africa HIV-positive women forced to sterilise: rights groups

     In South Africa doctors at their public hospitals have allegedly coerced dozens of HIV positive women to undergo sterilization. This sterilization have been going on for three decades now. The Woman’s Legal Centre and the International Her Rights Initiative have reported 48 complaints over coerced sterilization, which occurred from 1986 up until last year. The lawyer involved in this case wants an investigation to be done involving women between the ages of 18 ad 44. The most recent case was reported last year on a 25 year old woman who had just given birth to her second child. She released the statement that she was also pressured into getting sterilized by the doctor and hospital. Right now there are many organizations who fight for women’s rights and human rights that are pushing this problem to be stopped. They are arguing that the Doctors and hospitals don’t have a right to force sterilization because it is the woman’s body and it is their choice.

     After reading this article I was surprised to hear of sterilization going on in Africa. I was surprised because as it mentioned in the article, that Africa had the highest amount of HIV positive people. Since HIV was so prevalent in Africa I didn’t think that they would sterilize women for having it because usually when I heard of sterilization it was usually used as a punishment or for discrimination. I can possibly see why the S. African health system was pushing sterilization on HIV positive women. They were probably trying to stop the spread of HIV, so that the women wouldn’t pass it down to their children from their womb. I personally feel that sterilization isn’t the right way to go in this situation and that the S. African health system needs to think of other ways that they can stop the spread of HIV by inheritance from mother and child.

http://news.yahoo.com/africa-hiv-positive-women-forced-sterilise-rights-groups-202143778.html

3-20-15
2:10 pm