After their birth: indigenous women have been forced to undergo a tubal ligation in Saskatoon

QMI agency

Thursday, 27 July 2017 20:05

UPDATE
Thursday, 27 July 2017 20:05

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SASKATOON – the medical authorities of the region of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, said Thursday that they still have “much work to do” after it was revealed that aboriginal women have been forced to undergo a tubal ligation after having given birth, reported the “Saskatoon StarPhoenix”.

An external report of 56 pages effectively to the day this practice of aboriginal women have been forced to submit to sterilization in the hours that followed their birth in the Saskatoon area.

The local newspaper said that these aboriginal women have felt “invisible, victims of profiling and helpless”.

Seven aboriginal women have agreed to testify. Some have said in the interview that they have experienced pressure from the staff to submit to a tubal ligation. Employees of the local health system were also interviewed for the purposes of this investigation.

“While our policies have changed, we need to revise them by using a more collaborative approach involving the people most affected. It is difficult to hear the stories of these women and the impact of these tubal ligations on their life,” said Thursday the director of maternity services of the Saskatoon area, Leanne Smith.

“Regardless of their race or [their social status], all women should feel safe when they are under our supervision. This report serves as a source of motivation to improve our services and this will include an advisory board, more solid including the voices of the grandmothers, women and leaders of the First nations and Métis,” added Mrs. Smith.

The inquiry was triggered after the “Saskatoon StarPhoenix” was published in the fall of 2015 the story of indigenous women claiming to be victims of these practices.