NM memorial calling for study of forced sterilization against women of color advances

^{An historical poster from 1977 created by Rachael Romero for the
Wilfred Owen Brigade in San Francisco, California. (Library of Congress)}

Members of the New Mexico Legislature’s House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee advanced a memorial Friday that calls for a “comprehensive” study of the scope and impact of forced sterilization of Indigenous women and women of color in New Mexico.

House Memorial 32 requests the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department and the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women identify all cases of forced or coerced sterilization that have occurred in the state and gather survivor testimony. The memorial requests that the agencies evaluate the availability of reproductive health services for women of color and recommend actions the state can take to prevent future forced sterilization practices.

The legislation also requests that the study explore creating a reproductive sovereignty program “focused on culturally grounded health, education and healing services,” developing a public memorial and having the state formally acknowledge the “inhumanity of the grievous policy” of forced sterilization. 

The memorial states that the study must be completed...