Course:CSIS200/2024/Exploring Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada Through Babcock Forceps

About the Author

Tore Ruben resides on the ancestral and unceded traditional Coast Salish Lands including the Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations. Tore would like to begin by acknowledging the ongoing system of settler colonial present in Canadian society and government, a system all Canadians participate in, voluntarily or not. Tore would like to call attention to the importance of recognizing our place is this system so we can take individual and collective steps to dismantle it

Tore is a second year student in the Faculty of Arts at The University of British Columbia currently pursuing a major in psychology and a minor in Indigenous studies. Tore hopes to continue these areas of study in graduate school and go on to become a counsellor for Indigenous and queer youth.

Growing up in British Columbia, Tore quickly started to observe the hypocritical way the Canadian government seemed to act towards the Indigenous population. Every time a young Tore watched a prime minister do a land acknowledgement it irked them a little bit more; she couldn't understand how the person in charge of the country could acknowledge that they had stolen something over and over again while doing nothing to indicate it would ever be returned. That restless feeling rapidly grew into a passion for educating herself on the Indigenous people of Canada with the purpose of discovering what they might be able to do to aid Indigenous resurgence.

Definitions

Keyword	Definition
Tubal Ligation	A surgical operation that is an irreversible method of sterilization conducted through the method of tying, cutting or closing the fallopian tubes.
Eugenics Board	A group created by the sexual sterilization acts of Alberta and British Columbia with the power to authorize the sterilization of certain people.
Eugenics	The belief that humankind is improved through selective breeding.
Negative eugenics	A subset of eugenics that discourages procreation and attempts to decrease the population of groups with "undesirable" or "inferior" characteristics. This was carried out in many different ways like policies (like the Chinese Head Tax) or compulsory sterilization.
Positive eugenics	A subset of eugenics that encourages procreation between groups with "desirable" or "superior" characteristics.
Provincial Training School (PTS)	An institution for "mentally defectives" in Red Deer Alberta, in operation from 1923-1977.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)	A movement that demands recognition and action facing the disporportionate numbers of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)	A report contained 94 calls to action for the Canadian government to follow to begin reconciliation. Created as a result of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

Introduction

The settler colonial state of Canada has a consistently violent past with its Indigenous population; one notable chapter in this process of colonization is the compulsory or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women. This violation of Indigenous women's rights might be portrayed as a thing of the past, but it has continued well into the 21st century. In the past and present, these compulsory sterilizations were mostly conducted through a surgical operation called tubal ligation. There are several different ways this procedure can be carried out, for example, the fallopian tubes can be sewn, cut, cauterized or clamped shut. However, in every method there is a common piece of surgical equipment, the Babcock forceps; used to hold the fallopian tubes where they can be operated on depending on the procedure. This page will investigate how the sterilization of Indigenous women is a tool used by the government to exert control over the Indigenous population.

History of Compulsory Sterilization in Canada

Eugenics tree illustration showing the origins of eugenics

Eugenics is the practice of improving human evolution by process of "selective breeding." The term eugenics was popularized in the late 1800s by Sir Francis Galton. The movement includes two directions: "positive" and "negative" eugenics, though the most emphasis was placed on negative. The fact that negative eugenics was the main focus of the eugenics movement indicates that the true focus of eugenics was to eliminate certain groups, instead of produce a "superior" population. In Canada, two laws were passed with this goal in mind, The Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta, and An Act Respecting Sexual Sterilization (British Columbia). Other acts were proposed and drafted in other provinces (Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) but were shot down, primarily due to staunch objection by the Catholic Church.

The Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta (1928-1972)

In 1928 Alberta passed a sexual sterilization act which created a Eugenics Board, in order to put negative eugenics into law. This law was enforced right up until it was repealed in 1972. In the 44 years it was active, over 2500 people were sterilized under its authorization. Out of these individuals, 64.7% were women, 70.6% were under the age of 20, and 25.7% were Indigenous; a disproportionate number considering Indigenous people only made up 3.4% of Alberta's population at the time.

An Act Respecting Sexual Sterilization (British Columbia, 1933-1973)

In 1933, following Alberta's lead, British Columbia produced a sexual sterilization act of their own, also constructing a Eugenics Board. This act was somewhat narrower, and affected about 400 people, however records were destroyed so the exact number is unknown. This act was largely supported by both the conservative and liberal parties of B.C. at the time, but was protested by the Roman Catholic Church. This law was more targeted as it states that only individuals in custody of an institution were eligible to be sterilized under the authority of the board. The act also states that consent was required from the patient, spouse, family member or guardian; though it can be imagined that there would be many loopholes easily manipulated within this clause.

It is important to note that though the two acts were appealed, involuntary sterilization did not cease and still hasn't today.

Leilani Muir

Leilani O'Malley Muir

A notable figure in the history of eugenics in Canada is Leilani O'Malley Muir (pictured on the right). Muir was born in 1944 and was given up by her mother. She was admitted to the Provincial Training School (PTS) and was only issued a single IQ test during her many years there. After the results of her IQ test she was sterilized at the age of 14 without her knowledge or her consent, being told her appendix was being taken out. Later, Muir found out the IQ results were false. In the video below, Muir recounts her devastation in finding out about her sterilization in her adult years. Muir had desperately wanted children and the decision was ripped from her hands. Furthermore, when she later applied for adoption, she was denied on the ground that she would be an unfit mother as she had spent time in an institution (the PTS). She states "it only took them five minutes to ruin our lives," referring to the lack of proper consideration into the decision to sterilize her and the other children.

In 1995 Muir took the Alberta government to court for wrongful sterilization, a case that would set the stage for many more after her, and open the discussion on involuntary sterilization in Canada. In 1996 Muir won the court case and was awarded a settlement. Her case also led to a public apology by the Alberta government for the sterilization of over 2500 individuals under the Sexual Sterilization Act, and compensation for many more survivors.

Tubal Ligation and Babcock Forceps

Tubal ligation procedure

Tubal ligation is one of the most commonly used methods of female sterilization and is most often irreversible. The operation required to attempt to reverse it is considered a major surgery and does not always work. If the procedure is done shortly after childbirth (as is the case for many Indigenous women), the tubes are partly or fully removed.

Babcock forceps

The Babcock forceps are what grasp and hold the fallopian tubes for the surgeon to cut or close the fallopian tubes during the procedure. They are long with an open clamp at the end. This clamp appears loose as it allows the tube some lateral movement within the loop. However, once closed, the fallopian tube is trapped, even though it has the ability to slide slightly.

This is a fitting analogy to describe the hold the Canadian government attempts to exude over Indigenous women today. Though publicly they might be seen as supportive and sympathetic towards reconciliation, the Canadian government plays a pivotal role in the continued settler colonial society that exists in Canada. Like the fallopian tube trapped in the forceps controlled by the surgeon, society is trapped in settler colonialism until the Canadian government addresses this as an ongoing issue and takes action.

Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada

Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Indigenous Women

It has been seen historically that Indigenous women in Canada are disproportionately targeted by sterilization and face discrimination when accessing many forms of health care. As Pegoraro states, the sterilization of Indigenous women is a "genocidal attack," and has a core purpose in diminishing and controlling the Indigenous population of Canada. Similarly, a news article by the CBC states that the issue was brought before the UN Committee Against Torture as it must be seen as such. Following this, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called forced sterilization of Indigenous women a serious violation of human rights. However, the next year after this article was published, a doctor in the Northwest Territories was penalized for forcibly sterlizing an Indigenous woman. Dr. Andrew Kotaska was only supposed to remove the right fallopian tube, but despite protests from other medical staff during the surgery, he removed the left as well, leaving the woman sterile. In the chapter, Gendered Violence: Forced sterilization and coercive contraception, Samir Shaheen-Hussain discusses the expansion of distribution of birth control in Indigenous communities; where "abnormally high" birth rates were considered an issue.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)

MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls)

The MMIWG movement emerged as a call to action and a call out to the Canadian government to address the disproportionate numbers of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. The TRC report included this movement in a call to action, which led to the funding into a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report. However, both the TRC and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are not legally binding, and since their publications, almost no progress has been made, and numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls continue to soar.

The blatant disregard the Canadian government has shown towards this issue is absolutely an act of colonial violence; though indirect. By refusing to dedicate proper time and resources into this movement the Canadian government supports the continued genocide against Indigenous people. This can be seen as another way the Canadian government continues to exert control over Indigenous women and people in Canada

Conclusion

Throughout the creation of this page I've covered a background of sterilization and eugenics in Canada, Babcock forceps and tubal ligation and their implications, and colonial violence against Indigenous women in Canada. What I've come to learn is that forced or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women is indeed a colonial tool used by the Canadian government to control and manipulate not only Indigenous women but the Indigenous population as a whole. The surgical operation of tubal ligation and the use of Babcock forceps is an excellent symbol for the graphic and rigid control the government continues to exercise over the Indigenous population of Canada. In spite of this, we as residents of Canada hold the power to diminish, if not rid, the government of this control, and it is our responsibility to contribute in any way we can.