The construction of women in the non-consensual sterilisation debate: Why a feminist analysis is needed

When one approaches the considerable amount of literature in the area of non-consensual sterilisation, one is struck by two things. First, the debate centres on women both the woman whose sterilisation is proposed and quite often her mother is also a key figure. The second notable feature is that most of the debaters are not women. With a couple of notable exceptions, the judiciary have been male; the medical and psychological evidence upon which the judgment is based is often given by male professionals and with some important feminist exceptions, (Peppin, 1989–90; Shaw, 1990; Kingdom, 1991; Keywood, 1995; Rhoades, 1995) many of the commentators in the area have been male (Freeman, 1988; Lee and Morgan, 1990; Kennedy, 1991). Furthermore, the legal methods used to decide whether sterilisation should take place and the underlying assumptions have failed to take account of a feminist or, often, even a female perspective.