Paper short abstract:

This paper raises questions about the ethics of sterilization based on a 25-year study that i undertook of Puerto Rican women in New York that shows how sterilization, originally a method of population control in Puerto Rico, was transformed into a popular method of fertility control.

Paper long abstract:

Sterilization is one of the oldest reproductive technologies known today. In the United States and Europe sterilization has its origins in the racist, sexist, and classist ideology of the eugenic movement. Yet, in the 21st century, sterilization is one of the most popular methods of fertility control in the world. For example, by 1982, the rate of sterilization in Puerto Rico was 35%, one of the highest rates of sterilization in the world. I anchor my discussion of the ethics of sterilization in a 25-year study that I undertook of Puerto Rican women in New York that shows how sterilization, originally a method of population control in Puerto Rico, was adopted as a popular method of fertility control. As a reproductive technology, sterilization is neither good nor bad; its ethical status depends on how it is used. Using an integral analysis this study sheds light on how reproductive technologies such as sterilization can be both harmful as well as beneficial to women depending on their historical, personal, cultural, and social conditions. The medicalization of Puerto Rican women's reproductive history raises important ethical questions about sterilization as well as other methods of assisted reproductive technology such as invitro-fertilization, gamete donors, and transnational surrogacy. Some of these questions are: Who controls reproductive technology? Who has access to it and how is it used? Do these technologies place women and children at risk? How do we ensure that these practices are not exploitative?