The reports of forced sterilizations occurring in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities are extremely alarming. This is an egregious and staggering violation of human rights. No one should be subjected to reproductive coercion in any form. Unfortunately, the U.S. has a shameful history of forcing Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), along with people with disabilities, to undergo sterilization.

Reproductive rights are human rights. The right to conceive a child is a fundamental right and it is a universal right. Eugenics, forced sterilizations, and other violations of childbearing rights have no place in a civilized society, and that applies with special urgency to the oppression of BIPOC women and women with disabilities.

Over the past four years, the Trump administration has demonstrated a callous disregard for the human rights of immigrants and refugees. This must stop. Our nation should be committed to the highest standards of human rights for all, including immigrants and refugees. All too often in our history our nation has fallen far short on human rights, including reproductive rights, and we must be vigilant in defense of those rights.