The Reproductive Rights of the Developmentally Disabled in Regards to Involuntary Sterilization

This essay is about the issue of sterilizing developmentally disabled or mentally disabled people. The practice was supported by the belief that these people would produce mentally disabled children and/or not be able to care for their children. In the early 20th century, these people were primarily sent to poorly run state institutions where patients were over-medicated and sometimes abused. In addition, mentally disabled women were viewed as sexually promiscuous, so they were put in institutions at the onset of puberty and sometimes released when they reached menopause.
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