Health Ministry to investigate allegations that Romani women were sterilised without their consent
After talks with state ombudsman Otakar Motejl, Health Minister Milada
Emmerova has agreed to establish a special commission to investigate fresh
allegations that Romani women were sterilised without their consent in the
past decade. The birth rate among the Roma is significantly higher than
the general population and documented evidence shows that from 1959 to
1990 the former Czechoslovakia encouraged Romani women to undergo
sterilisation by giving them cash payments, and in some cases doctors
performed the operation without the women's consent. The practice was
condemned by international human rights groups as racist and halted as
official policy. Charges that sterilizations continued in recent years
have been brought forth by the Budapest-based European Roma Rights Centre,
along with two Czech civil society groups which are representing the legal
interests of about 10 Romani women.
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