Politician suggests sterilization for poor women
Categories: Just for moms, Pregnancy & birth, Weird but true
Louisiana State Representative John LaBruzzo is concerned about the future. He's worried for the poor of his state who cannot afford the children they apparently keep having and about the quality of future generations made up of the children of the poor and uneducated. "We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out," said LaBruzzo.His solution? Sterilization. He is looking at a plan to pay poor women a thousand dollars to get their Fallopian tubes tied. The plan would also cover other forms of birth control, including vasectomies for men (to avoid accusations of being sexist). His plan might include tax incentives for well-to-do, college graduates to have more children as well.
Before you accuse him of racism, however, he is quick to point out that there are more whites on welfare than groups and that the program would be completely voluntary. On the one hand, since it would be voluntary, those who don't like the idea can simply choose not to participate. On the other hand, it sure seems like a step closer to a world where only the wealthy and successful are allowed to reproduce.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Uly 9-28-2008 @ 4:46PM
I'd never accuse him of racism. No, I accuse him of classism, and rightfully so. Honestly, we haven't seen this sort of explicit promotion of eugenics in this country since the second world war!
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sa 9-28-2008 @ 5:07PM
slippery, slippery slope...
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Michele W 9-28-2008 @ 5:52PM
I am sorry but I agree that people on welfare should have to get sterilizlied after so long if they can not get off welfare and keep just having more kids. Welfare should be for people who are having a hard time and need help but they work and are trying. Welfare is not for these people though and it is for the druggies and drunks that are lazy and claim they cant work because they are addicted. They live off of us tax payers but yet when the tax payers need help there is no where for them to go. We help all the wrong people in our country. Just like disability. You have a bad back or you are very sick with something and can not work, You apply for disability and you get turned down but yet the people who are hooked on drugs and alcohol get first try no problem because they can not hold down a job because of the drugs. They chose that life style they need to pay for it. They dont deserve special treatment because they are druggies and drunks. I can see the rehab to help yes but to put these people through it 2 or 4 times and then because they cant stop they get disability is rediculous. Dont give them everything because they are breaking the law. If they cant stop and help them selves let them die then from thier addiction. This is a very touchy subject for me and I may sound harsh but after what I have put up with I deserve to be this way. I am 32 years old and need at least 2 disc fusions in my back. I also have degenerative disc disease half way up my back already. I worked for 5 years after i went to business school. I paid my taxes got married had a kid and bought a house. Well my husband s ex girlfriend said he was the father of her kid ( way before we met ) and so he took the responsability and this woman is a low life crack addict that has been in jail too many times to count. she was bad when he was with her but not into that much then. she had the kid and lost it she began doing everything in site dropping the kid off with people and not picking him up and leaving hi m for weeks and we would have to pick him up. This woman has been on welfare since kid one and she had 6 kids all together each to a differnt person. she killed 2 of them because they were addicted to crack . we found out that the kid that is suppose to be my husbands is not even his she lied cuase his family has money. She admitted this in court because of chourse we took her took court and PA dont care . ONce the father signs the birth cirtificate oh well you are screwed. we are the only state left to do this. so now we pay for a druggies lie when he was trying to do the right thing. she handed the kid over to my inlaws when he was 1 years old. yet she gets welfare yet after she signed the kid away she was still getting welafre for him and got almost 7 thousand dollars for him and she didnt even have the kid. She got away with that and they know she stole it yet they gave iot back to her when she got her kids back. She does crack and cant hold a job because of it plus she stole from every place she did work so now she gets social security disability to. why she is no good and dont deserve it. I could go on and on about the stuff she does but i wont write more than i already have. just if they are on welfare and not bettering themselves then yes they should not be aloud to have kids and be lazy druggie drunk bums. Not all people on welfare are that I am not saying that but I would say 90% are. Tthe welfare system knows who trys and who dont. Give the help to the working people who have a hard time trying to work and support their family.
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Jenni 9-28-2008 @ 9:03PM
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
ame s 9-28-2008 @ 6:45PM
I not only think it is a good idea but I think it should be manditory. Why do so many people think it is acceptable for people who can't afford to support children to have them?
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Jenni 9-28-2008 @ 9:05PM
People think that it's a right to have children. And, I guess it is. However, your rights should never infringe upon mine and using my hard earned tax money to raise your rights definitely infringes.
Note: I would be willing to pay anyone of any social standing to sterilize themselves. There are some people who have enough money to support a family who should never have children. Pay them too!
Don 9-29-2008 @ 8:19AM
Yeah lets sterilize all the poor people, then we'll start sterilizing stupid people, then we'll start sterling criminals, after the bad people we'll go after the people who work hard but don't pay enough taxes as everyone else!
What ever happen the to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
The only person who has a say in whether or not you can have children is YOU! To suggest that anyone else has that power is a gross violation of a persons civil rights. I am deplored that there are people who agree with this idea.
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Mihir 9-29-2008 @ 9:47AM
as long as the program stays 100% voluntary, i don't have a problem with it. however, it should be opened up to everyone that doesn't want or wants to avoid having children, not only the poor.
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Sabrina 9-29-2008 @ 12:05PM
If it is 100% voluntary, and it opens up to include anyone who wants to PERMANENTLY sterilize themselves, I would support it. However, my concern is whether or not people who come in for these procedures are getting enough education about what is being done to their bodies and what the results are, any possible long-lasting side effects (other than not being able to have children). Also, I'd be concerned by anyone who participated in the program and subsequently still produced a child (It does happen, ask me how I know!) suing for wrongful life.
On a side note I do think it's terribly classist to suggest only poor people need sterilized. Or that well-to-do college graduates produce better children in some way just because they have access to more money.
We are considered poor, and since the highest education my husband has is high school, and I dropped out of college before finishing my bachelor's, we're now condisered "uneducated" as well. My kids (only 2, thanks) are both bright, and qualify for a host of state-funded programs to help them get ready for school. And my husband pays part of the taxes for that program through his job.
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cml3720 9-30-2008 @ 8:55AM
I live in VA and have a friend living on welfare here. She, at age 23, is the mother of two children (ages 6 and 2) and has absolutely no interest in the possibility of future children. She has looked into both an IUD and permanent sterilization, and (according to her) found that she is not eligible through social programs to receive either due to her young age. Despite the fact that the IUD is far less expensive over the long run (I do not know a great deal about the cost of sterilization procedures), the government is willing to use our tax dollars to pay for birth control in the form of the pill only.
I have a hard time with paying people to have the procedure. It seems that for many poor women, a $1000 payout could be enough money to alter their judgement in a time of need. However, I would applaud further education and tax payer dollars to offer sterilization and long-term birth control options to those who are genuinely interested.
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