WUNRN
Center for Reproductive Rights
09.30.14 - More than a decade after a Chilean
woman was forcibly sterilized because she is living with HIV, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced that it will hear her
case—the first-ever forced sterilization case for a person living with HIV in Latin
America to be decided by an international human rights body.
This week, the Commission declared F.S. v. Chile—a
case submitted by the Center for Reproductive Rights to the human rights
body—admissible and the Commission will review the case on its merits around
the violation to the rights to personal integrity, due process, privacy and
family life, equality, judicial protection and right to be free from violence.
Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for
Reproductive Rights: “Every woman across the globe has a fundamental right to
control her reproductive life, no matter who she is, what her HIV status may
be, and whether she decides to build a family or not. The unconscionable
actions of the doctor who took it upon himself to forcibly sterilize a young
woman because she was living with HIV were a gross violation of her human
rights, robbing her of her basic reproductive decision-making and future. The
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights is making history in taking her case
and must send a clear message that no country can ever ignore human rights
violations or allow discrimination as horrific as forced sterilization to
occur.”
F.S. is a Chilean woman living with HIV who gave birth in
November 2002 via cesarean. Aware of her HIV status, the surgeon operating on
F.S. surgically sterilized her during the delivery without her knowledge or
consent—despite the fact that Chilean law requires written consent from a woman
before any sterilization procedure. F.S. later filed a criminal complaint
against the surgeon in March 2007, but due to a substandard police
investigation, the Chilean judiciary dismissed the case, falsely claiming F.S.
had given verbal consent to sterilization. She continues to suffer physical and
psychological harms today.
The Center for Reproductive Rights and Chilean-based HIV/AIDS
NGO Vivo Positivo brought the F.S. v Chile case before the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2009. The petition argues that the
forced sterilization of F.S. violated her rights to be free from torture or
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, to privacy, to be free from
discrimination and to an effective judicial remedy. The petition calls for
compensation to F.S. for the harm that she suffered, criminal sanctions for
those responsible for violating her rights, and guarantees against coercive or
forced sterilizations of HIV-positive women in the future. The petition also
seeks the legislative and policy changes necessary to fully protect the sexual
and reproductive rights of individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
“For the last decade, the Chilean government has continually
failed to address the appalling injustices this young woman has
endured,” said Mónica Arango, regional director for Latin America and the
Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Now, we look to the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights to take this important opportunity to hold
accountable those responsible for violating this woman’s fundamental human
rights.”
“Women living with HIV and AIDS have a right to make their own
medical decisions, including those about their fertility,” said Sara Araya
Executive Director at Vivo Positivo. “The Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights must demand that the Chilean government create and implement
health policies to protect the rights of women living with HIV and
AIDS—punishing anyone who discriminates and denies women quality health care.”
In 2010, the Center and Vivo Positivo collaborated on the
report Dignity Denied:
Violations of the Rights of HIV-Positive Women in Chilean Health Facilities.
The report uncovered that abuse against women living with HIV/AIDS in Chile by
medical professionals is widespread, including sterilizing them without their
knowledge or consent during other procedures. It notes that Chile has failed to
protect the human rights of women living with HIV in the country by fostering
an environment in which healthcare workers willfully discriminate against them.
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