Quebec College of Physicians adopts policies to prevent forced sterilization of Indigenous women
CBC
Quebec's College of Physicians is introducing new measures aimed at stopping the forced sterilization of Indigenous women, following a 2022 report that found more than 20 such cases in the province since 1980.
"We are taking concrete actions to ensure that no woman ever again undergoes sterilization without her knowledge or against her will. We must regain their trust," College president Mauril Gaudreault said in a statement Tuesday announcing the changes.
The College formed a working group in 2022 to come up with recommendations after researchers from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) documented a wide range of obstetrical violence targeting Indigenous women.
Researchers spoke to dozens of women who had been pressured into or misinformed about a series of interventions — from tubal ligations to abortions to hysterectomies.
The College announced Thursday it was adopting all the working group's recommendations, including:
Suzy Basile, one of the UQAT researchers who also was part of the College's working group, told CBC News in an interview Tuesday that her 2022 report was just the first phase of her research, and that she's been documenting more cases since.
"I still meet women who avoid health services because they are afraid to be targeted. They are afraid to be judged," Basile said.
"We're surprised about the number of women who talk to us. We also know it's just the tip of the iceberg," she said.
Basile said she hoped these new measures would help rebuild trust in the health-care system.
"Hopefully this will encourage those women to go to their follow-ups and seek out all health services they need, especially when they're pregnant," she said.
Innu surgeon Stanley Vollant, also part of the working group, told CBC News he was pleased the College acted quickly and decisively to address the problem.
"I was very surprised as a physician that still today those things could happen. I thought those things could [only] happen 50 years ago," Vollant said.
In some of the cases documented in the 2022 report, doctors performed hysterectomies on women without clearly explaining that's what they were doing.
Vollant said the new rules will reinforce the notion of consent.
