Can “voluntary” sterilization become “forced”?
Yes. Perhaps the greatest social danger from “voluntary” sterilization is that it is only a half-step away from forced sterilization. If people reject the reality that sterilization is a serious evil, accepting it as a “morally neutral act,” the way is paved for coerced sterilization.30 In any functional social order, citizens may be morally compelled to do certain things, but they may not morally be forced to perform evil actions nor forced to consent to them. For example, traffic laws force us to limit our speed but there is nothing inherently evil in driving slower. Such legitimate laws are morally justified forms of coercion. However, sterilization attacks the physical integrity of the human person. While this may be justified as a punishment for crime, the evil of sterilization should not be forced on anyone as a matter of social policy. Those considered “unfit” by Nazis standards lost their right to reproduce. Indira Gandhi launched a massive coerced sterilization campaign that l
