The Use of Forced Sterilisation as a Key Component of Population Policy: Comparative Case Studies of China, India, Puerto Rico and Singapore
| DOI | 10.1177/00195561221082984 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The Use of Forced
Sterilisation as a Key
Component of
Population Policy:
Comparative Case
Studies of China,
India, Puerto Rico
and Singapore
Sam Rowlands1 and Pramod R. Regmi2
Abstract
In the years before the UN international human rights became fundamental
values of law and ethics, family planning programmes designed to control popula-
tion growth were adopted by many countries. This article compares the imple-
mentation of sterilisation campaigns in four countries that have used a degree
of incentivisation or coercion. For each selected country, we aimed to explore
two questions: How was mass sterilisation implemented, and were human rights
protected? The countries are China, India, Puerto Rico and Singapore. We sug-
gest that sterilisation should be readily available as part of an overall sexual and
reproductive health service, but people’s sexual and reproductive rights must
take priority.
Keywords
Coercion, human rights, population, population policy, sterilisation
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
68(2) 271–284, 2022
© 2022 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561221082984
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1 Department of Medical Science & Public Health, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, United
Kingdom.
2 Department of Nursing Science, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, United Kingdom.
Corresponding author:
Sam Rowlands, Visiting Professor, Department of Medical Science & Public Health, Bournemouth
University, Bournemouth Gateway Building, St Pauls Lane, Bournemouth BH8 8GP, United Kingdom.
E-mail: srowlands@bournemouth.ac.uk
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