NFPRHA’s Response to Forced Hysterectomies among ICE Detainees

WASHINGTON, DC – The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).

“This week, reports of an unusually high number of hysterectomies performed on immigrant women detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia draws attention to a long and continuous history of forced sterilizations and other attempts to limit people’s reproductive choices, particularly those of women of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and people in detention. NFPRHA condemns all forced sterilizations and other nonconsensual medical procedures as horrific, grievous infringements on individuals’ reproductive rights and autonomy. Every person has the right to decide if and when to have children and to parent those children in a safe environment, no matter what. We denounce the abuse suffered by women at the Center and call on the Trump administration to engage in a full investigation of the Center and its actions, and to cooperate fully with any external review."

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.