Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood and an advocate of eugenics, mocked prolific mothers by viciously dubbing them “baby machines.” In several nations, the anti-“baby machine” mentality has resulted in state-mandated sterilization of women. China is an example of one such nation, and India another. But now, in the wake of this year’s tsunami which resulted in the death of more than 231,000 Indians, women are seeking reversal surgery to restore children to their homes and communities.
CNN reports:
NAGAPATTINAM, India (Reuters) — It’s the most unlikely setting for hope — a dingy shack filled haphazardly with pots and pans, surrounded by puddles of filthy water, overflowing drains and rain-soaked furniture. Its resident, Geetha, a fisherwoman living in a camp for tsunami survivors in southern India, is five months pregnant. She is the first survivor to conceive after undergoing surgery to reverse her sterilization in the hope of having children, after daughters Jotika, 5, and Sosika, 3, were swept away by the sea last year.
Her success story has rekindled the faith of other couples desperate to become parents again and fill a void created by a catastrophe that killed more than 231,000 people in a dozen Indian Ocean nations, most of them women and children.