How Forced Sterilization Became a “Social Issue”

On the “Unvoiced Voice”

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to clarify how the “social issue” of forced sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Act has emerged, especially what kind of voices the parties concerned have raised, how those voices have been heard or not, and what impact those voices have had on society and politics. The purpose of this study is to highlight the current situation and remaining issues. From the 1960s, there have been murmurs by victims of “hysterectomies/oophorectomies” that violate even the Eugenic Protection Act, and from the 1970s, there were statements and discussions at meetings by disabled women, but these were generally suppressed. The former Eugenic Protection Act lawsuits that began in 2018 have allowed the “voices” of victims to be heard, and society has finally come to recognize the harm caused by forced sterilization as a “social issue.” Media reports related to the lawsuit have been biased toward the grieving “voice” of having been “deprived of having a child,”, instead of the originally diverse “voices” of the victims. Of course, it cannot be denied that a certain tone of “voice” was necessary for the state and society to act. However, there is a “risk” concerning eugenic thought and gender at the foot of such a tone. What is needed now is to continue to think about this “social issue” while paying attention to the circumstances and politics surrounding those who raise their voices, without overlooking the various “voices” and the “voices” that are still present and unvoiced.