I presented to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in November. I was 32 weeks pregnant, and I flew to Geneva to deliver the voices of these women so that they might help provide some recommendations so that Canada might know what to do about this atrocity. Thankfully, they listened, and they issued these recommendations.
My opinion is that of one of my client's. Her name is Morningstar Mercredi. She experienced, at the age of 14, a coerced termination and some injuries that subsequently led to her infertility. She's a very strong advocate for specific criminalization. She was a minor and she did not consent. What else do we turn to in those types of situations?
Then I ask, what is the risk of criminalizing forced and coerced sterilization? If proper and informed consent is obtained, then no one gets charged. So what is the problem? Where is the risk? Prisons will not fill with physicians who are well meaning and who intended to do some good work. This is not the kind of act that a majority of doctors engage in. I believe the Ontario Medical Association came forward and said that. I agree. I don't think a majority of Canadian physicians engage in their work in this way. But some clearly do, and when are they held to account for these kinds of things?