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Sterilized in the name of public health: Race, immigration, and reproductive control in modern California

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  • Stern, A.M.

Abstract

In exploring the hisiory of involuntary sterilization in California, I connect the approximately 20 000 operations performed on patients in state institutions between 1909 and 1979 to the federally funded procedures carried out at a Los Angeles County hospital in the early 1970s. Highlighting the confluence of factors that facilitated widespread sterilization abuse in the early 1970s. I trace prosterilization arguments predicated on the protection of public health. This historical overview raises important questions about the legacy of eugenics in contemporary California and relates the past to recent developments in health care delivery and genetic screening.

Suggested Citation

  • Stern, A.M., 2005. "Sterilized in the name of public health: Race, immigration, and reproductive control in modern California," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1128-1138.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2004.041608_0
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.041608
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael A. Clemens & Ethan G. Lewis & Hannah M. Postel, 2018. "Immigration Restrictions as Active Labor Market Policy: Evidence from the Mexican Bracero Exclusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1468-1487, June.
    2. Jennifer Barber & Jennifer Yarger & Heather Gatny, 2015. "Black-White Differences in Attitudes Related to Pregnancy Among Young Women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 751-786, June.
    3. Carla Brailey & Brittany C. Slatton, 2024. "Centering Black Women’s Voices: Illuminating Systemic Racism in Maternal Healthcare Experiences," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-12, May.
    4. Rondini, Ashley C. & Kowalsky, Rachel H., 2021. "“First do no harm”: Clinical practice guidelines, mesolevel structural racism, and medicine's epistemological reckoning," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    5. Collins, Pamela Y. & von Unger, Hella & Armbrister, Adria, 2008. "Church ladies, good girls, and locas: Stigma and the intersection of gender, ethnicity, mental illness, and sexuality in relation to HIV risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 389-397, August.
    6. Yasamin Kusunoki & Jennifer S. Barber & Elizabeth J. Ela & Amelia Bucek, 2016. "Black-White Differences in Sex and Contraceptive Use Among Young Women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1399-1428, October.
    7. Bohacek, Radim & Myck, Michal, 2017. "Economic Consequences of Political Persecution," IZA Discussion Papers 11136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Leiter, Valerie, 2024. "Signs and symptoms: Adverse events associated with a sterilization device," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    9. Vrindavani Avila & Jennifer Elyse James, 2024. "Controlling Reproduction and Disrupting Family Formation: California Women’s Prisons and the Violent Legacy of Eugenics," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-13, May.

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