Paid Sterilizations for Poor Women: Coercing Them Out of Poverty
Lynette Roberson, 3 S. Regional Black L. Students Ass’n L.J. 84 (2009)
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In September 2008, [Louisiana Representative John LaBruzzo of Metairie] suggested a plan to reduce the state’s public assistance payments to poor residents. He projected that, one day, persons receiving state assistance would outnumber taxpayers. His suggested solution to the potential problem is that the state should offer poor people $1,000 to undergo sterilization: tubal ligation for women and vasectomy for men . . . Part I of this article will discuss the similarities between LaBruzzo’s plan and its predecessors in federal law and Louisiana state law. Part II addresses the seemingly voluntary nature of the program and raises key challenges that the plan presents, including legal challenges under contract law, unexpected consequences, and outcomes of similar programs tried elsewhere. These challenges and criticisms of the plan are not limited to its application in Louisiana. Part III acknowledges the state’s interests in controlling its budget and debunks claims that families are profiting from public assistance. Part IV offers appropriate alternatives that would more adequately address LaBruzzo’s concerns. Part V concludes the article.
