Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO of Americans United for Life, issued the following statement responding to shocking allegations of forced sterilization at an immigration facility in Georgia:
“Like so many Americans, I have heard the shocking allegations of forced hysterectomies on women at a privately-owned Georgia immigration detention facility. Americans United for Life calls for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter, for justice for any victims, and for the full consequences of the law for those who would perpetrate such depraved acts.
Troubling allegations such as these should powerfully focus our national attention toward the vital need for full informed consent for all patients. Informed consent serves as the backbone of a legitimate and humane healthcare system. Patients must be certain that they will be provided true, comprehensive, and straightforward information about medical interventions. No one should ever be subjected to a medical procedure to which they have not explicitly consented. Incredibly, it is not an allegation but a fact that Governor Ralph Northam stripped the right to informed consent from Virginia women on the matter of abortion earlier this year. Governor Northam prioritized the radical and anti-patients-rights demands of abortion lobbyists over the basic right to informed consent for women considering abortion.
As we await more information that will inform how the federal government should proceed in responding to the horrific allegations concerning the treatment of patients in Georgia, we can and should stand united in calling for the restoration of basic informed consent protections in Virginia and in all states that leave patients vulnerable to predatory practitioners.”
Americans United for Life (AUL) is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization that holds the distinction of being the first national pro-life organization in America—incorporated in 1971. It protects and defends human life from conception to natural death through vigorous legislative, judicial, and educational efforts.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, CONTACT
NOAH BRANDT, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
[email protected] or 202-741-4921
