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Women
with DisAbilities &
Reproductive Rights
Plain Language Factsheet
© DAWN Ontario. All Rights Reserved
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Women with disAbilities have worked hard to change society's attitudes and laws relating to our reproductive rights. These include our right to:
Sex education In the past, girls and women with disAbilties rarely received sex education. However, in the '90's we saw an increased interest on this issue which resulted in programs and literature being available. For example, the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN), has published a series of 16 easy-to-read books about sexuality and relationships for adolescents and adults who are users of blissymbolics. Many services which provide counselling on sex and sexuality are physically inaccessible. Reading material is not usually accessible for women who are blind or have low vision. Few services have communication devices for women who are deaf and women who are non-verbal. Health Services The Ontario Medical Association and the Ministry of Health need to encourage doctors to buy low examining tables which can be raised or lowered to accommodate disAbled women. Doctors and birth control counselors need to understand how different types of birth control will interact with certain disabilities and medications. Pregnant disAbled women need to know how certain medications will affect their fetus. More research is needed in these areas. Sexuality in institutions Some women live in institutions which tend to deny or restrain sexual actitivty. Instead of being taught methods of birth control, some women with disAbilities have been sterilized without their consent. Whether women with disAbilities are lesbian, bi-sexual or heterosexual and are living in an institution, their right to express their sexuality needs to be recognized. Furthermore, women with disAbilities must not be denied the right to control their reproduction and their bodies. The disaster of Depo Provera Depo Provera (DP) is a form of birth control given by needle. Partly because of a strong lobby of consumer groups in Canada, DP has not been approved for use as a contraceptive. Studies have shown a link between DP and cancer, and have shown dangerous long-term side effects. However, because of a loophole in federal legislation, DP has been administered for many years to women with disabilities. Other women who have received DP include: Aboriginal women, poor women, teenagers and ehtno-racial women. Physicians and institutional staff have administered DP to women with mental or physical disabilities, rarely informing them of the drug's side effects. Some disAbled girls as young as twelve have been given the drug without being told of its harmful side effects. Girls and women with disAbilities are given DP to stop periods and prevent pregnancies for no other reason than for the convenience of institutions and caregivers. These caregivers may believe that they are helping these girls by giving them DP. The results have been alarming. Donald Zarfas of the University of Western Ontario conducted a study in 1981 which showed that the death rate among women who have taken DP is much higher than normal. Reported side effects include: abdominal discomfort, depression, vision impairment, irregular menstrual flow, blood clotting problems, and suppression of sexual drive (it is used on male sexual offenders to suppress their sexual drive). What can we do? All women need to be made aware of the drug and its side effects. Women with disAbilities can continue to voice their conercerns over the usage of DP and its harmful effects upon women's health,
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