Forced sterilization of women of color, including women with disabilities, has been an ongoing—though seldomly discussed—practice within the United States from the late 1800s through the present day (Lawrence, 2014). As recently as September 2014 , Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill banning California prisons from forcibly sterilizing women (Bhattarcharjee, 2014). The forced sterilization of women with disabilities is part of a larger historical trend within the U.S. that has used social policies, such as institutionalization and termination of parental rights, to regulate the mothering of women with disabilities (Lightfoot & LaLiberte, 2010). Additionally, women with disabilities contend with norms of femininity including idealized motherhood (Malacrida, 2009). In such a sociocultural atmosphere that condones the forced sterilization of women with disabilities, how do women cope with the psychological repercussions of sterilization and how do institutions that have been responsible for violating the reproductive rights of women begin to repair damage they have caused? How does this history of oppression influence the maternal identity development (Meighan, 2006) and reproductive story development (Jaffe & Diamond, 2010) of women with disabilities? The purpose of this purposed structured discussion is to examine restorative practices such as community, restorative circles, conflict management, and shame management (Wachtel, 2013) that will bring healing to the community of women with disabilities given the history of forced sterilization (Cohen & Bohifield, 2012; Nicholson, 2014) and facilitate a more positive maternal identity development. Two of the three presenters are mothers with disabilities. Through case studies of women who have experienced forced sterilization and mothers with disabilities, participants will explore and discuss issues of sexuality, maternal identity development, and the development of the reproductive story in the context of health disparities, especially with regard to obstetric/gynecological health of women with disabilities. References Bhattarcharjee, R. (2014, September 26). California bill bans forced sterilization of female inmates. September 26, 2014. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Gov--Jerry-Brown-Signs-bill-to-End-Forced-Prison-Sterilization--277229702.html Cohen, E. & Bonifield, J. (2012, March 15). California’s dark legacy of forced sterilizations. CNN Health. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/health/california-forced-sterilizations/ Jaffe, J. & Diamond, M.O. (2010). Reproductive trauma: Psychotherapy with infertility and pregnancy loss clients. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Lawrence, M. (2014). Reproductive rights and state institutions: The forced sterilization of minority women in the United States (Senior Thesis). Retrieved from: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/390 Lightfoot, E. & LaLiberte, T. (2010). The inclusion of disability as a condition for termination of parental rights. Child Abuse and Neglect, 34, 927-934. Malacrida, C. (2009). Performing motherhood in a disablist world: Dilemmas of motherhood, femininity, and disability. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(1), 99-117. Doi: 10.1080/09518390802581927 Meighan, M. (2006). Ramona T. Mercer: Maternal role attainment – becoming a mother. In A.M. Tomey & M.R. Alligood (Eds.), Nursing theorists and their work (pp. 605-622). St. Lous, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Nicholson, L. (2014, June 22). Confirmed: 39 women illegally sterilized in California prisons. Reuters. Retrieved from: http://rt.com/usa/167660-california-illegal-sterilization-women/ Wachtel, T. (2013). Defining restorative. International Institute of Restorative Practices. Retrieved from: http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/Defining-Restorative.pdf
