Maternal Mortality, Population Control, and the War in Women's Wombs: a Bioethical Analysis of Quinacrine Sterilizations

This article examines the bioethical dimensions of the promotion and practice of quinacrine sterilization. The author shows that despite widespread concerns over serious side-effects such as increased risk of cancer and risks of harm to fetuses and infants in instances where the procedure fails, two US advocates of the quinacrine sterilization have led a campaign to distribute and support the use of the procedure in various developing countries and facilities serving low-income women in the United States. Reviewing the primary international codes of ethics governing human experimentation, the author finds that the principles of voluntary consent and special protection for vulnerable groups as well as the requirement that the experimentation be conducted by scientifically qualified individuals found in these codes, are frequently violated. The author concludes by contending that the quinacrine sterilization campaign is rooted in anti-immigration sentiment and a philosophy that is all too willing to treat disadvantaged women as a means rather than an end. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Reproductive Freedom, International - North America]