Earlier this month, Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Virginia, alleged that detainees at the facility had been subjected to hysterectomies without their consent or knowledge. Corroborating these claims, Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal found that at least 17 immigrant women have been subjected to this procedure.
Wooten’s claims have been confirmed by several former detainees, whom she said were forced to go see a gynecologist she referred to as the “uterus collector”, adding that “everybody he sees has a hysterectomy”. Recounting the horrific experiences these immigrant women were exposed to, she said that many of these women did not understand what procedure was being administered on their body due to “language barriers or poor explanations”.
One of the detainees said that, when she asked what procedure she would be undergoing, she was “given three different responses by three different individuals”, saying it felt like they were “experimenting” with her body. In fact, Wooten said, “I've had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to see the doctor and they’ve had hysterectomies and they don't know why they went or why they’re going.”
— Brooke Binkowski (@brooklynmarie) September 14, 2020
Accordingly, more than 170 congressional Democrats have demanded an “immediate investigation” into Wooten’s claims. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), however, has said that it “vehemently disputes” these accusations.
Wooten, for her part, has described her fear at becoming a “target”. This begs the question as to how many more Dawn Wootens there are in immigration detention centers across the US who may have similarly harrowing stories but are too afraid to come forward.
In fact, while she was still employed at ICDC, Wooten lodged complaints with the leadership about how the center was not taking the coronavirus "seriously", only to be demoted from full-time employment to an on-call position. Detainees have for years complained that the ICDC has insufficient health and safety standards, poor medical care, and unsanitary living conditions. Therefore, while Congresswoman Jayapal confirmed only 17 cases of forced hysterectomies, this center has been in operation for years, as has the “uterus collector”, pointing to the fact that the true number is likely much higher and has been ongoing for several years.
La Salle Corrections, which runs the center, operates 18 other such facilities in the south of the US. Furthermore, in federal detention centers along the border with Mexico, detainees live in squalid conditions and in standing-room-only cells with no hot meals. There is also rampant sexual and physical abuse in these detention centers, where mumps, measles, chickenpox, the flu, and scabies are commonplace. Therefore, given the universally poor conditions of detention centers across the country, it is not out of the question to assume that this practice of forced sterilizations has been undertaken elsewhere.
Ultimately, the ICDC case alone is demonstrative of the eugenicist underpinnings of detention centers, which are intentionally sterilizing mmigrant women. If, as one suspects, this center is only a drop in the ocean, however, then Dawn Wooten’s complaints may well be indicative of an immigration system that is bordering on genocidal.
Moreover, this would hardly be out of the ordinary for a country that is built on a bedrock of genocide. During the 20th century, over 60,000 people were sterilized across 32 states, wherein several Black and Indigenous Americans were systematically sterilized as part of a state-sponsored eugenics program. In fact, the rates of sterilization among Black women increased with the onset of desegregation as White Americans became worried that their neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools would be flooded by Black Americans.
Disproportionate levels of sterilizations were also reported among Latino and Indigenous communities, with a 1965 survey revealing that one-third of Puerto Rican women between the ages of 20 and 49 had been sterilized. In truth, the 60,000 figure has been said to be a gross underestimate, with some analysts saying that the true toll of women impacted is well over 100,000. It is telling that these programs were one of the primary sources of inspiration for Nazi Germany.
Albeit to a smaller degree, this has continued into the 21st century. It is estimated that approximately 1,400 forced sterilizations were performed on women in California prisons between 1997 and 2010 using the same eugenicist reasonings of “bad parenting and undesirable genes”. It is likely that these policies were replicated in other states as well.
It is no secret that Black Americans form a disproportionate percentage of prison populations, and are more likely to be incarcerated–or given longer sentences–for the same crimes as their white counterparts. Therefore, it follows that they are likely the most frequent victims of forced sterilizations in prisons.
In fact, Dr. James Heinrich, a former OB-GYN at the Valley State Prison described the procedures as a ‘cost-saving’ measure for the government as it would no longer have to pay “welfare [...] for these unwanted children” from communities who “procreated more”.
Yet, in spite of all this, incumbent President Donald Trump, Democratic nominee Joe Biden, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have all condemned and expressed their alarm at the forced sterilization of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang province, describing it as ‘genocide’.
However valid these accusations might be, it is clear that they are politically motivated, and not guided by any humanitarian considerations. One wonders whether this apparent concern for human rights would be of greater service if it were directed towards acknowledging and addressing both historical and modern systems of eugenics and genocide within American borders. Instead, they have chosen to take the traveled path of fanning the flames of a rivalry that benefits no one, thereby once again ignoring the atrocities taking place on their own land. As the balance of power between the US and China takes center stage, women’s bodies are pushed further to the periphery and thus continue to be appropriated to futher the eugenicist and genocidal policies of both countries.