In the Clinical Report “Menstrual Management for Adolescents with Disabilities,” Quint et al1 review options for assisting adolescent girls with disabilities and their families in decision-making related to menstruation. Although we appreciate the careful attention the authors paid to the topic, we have several concerns about important issues that were omitted, as well as the inclusion of sterilization as an option for menstrual management in adolescent disabled girls.
The United States has a shameful history of curtailing the reproductive rights of people with disabilities, including the eugenics movement that resulted in the forced sterilization of over 65 000 Americans.2 Medical professionals cannot afford to overlook this important historical and cultural context. Moreover, the report failed to state that international standards, such as the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, forbid compulsory sterilization, except when medically necessary and no less intrusive options exist.3...
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