[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1153 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 1153

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                       October 2, 2020.
Whereas there is a shameful history in the United States of Black, Indigenous, 
        people of color, immigrants, poor people, and people with disabilities 
        being subjected to medical procedures without their informed consent;
Whereas 32 States passed eugenic-sterilization laws, resulting in the 
        sterilization of between 60,000 to 70,000 people beginning in the early 
        1900s;
Whereas 25 percent of Native American women of childbearing age were sterilized 
        over the course of 6 years after the passage of the Family Planning 
        Services and Population Research Act of 1970;
Whereas incarcerated individuals have continued to face sterilization practices, 
        including nearly 150 incarcerated women in California prisons sterilized 
        between 2006 and 2010;
Whereas, on September 14, 2020, a coalition of organizations, including Project 
        South, Georgia Detention Watch, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human 
        Rights, and South Georgia Immigrant Support Network, filed a complaint 
        to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General 
        expressing concerns about the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, 
        Georgia, including detained immigrant women receiving unnecessary 
        hysterectomies and a lack of informed consent for gynecological 
        procedures;
Whereas a growing number of women are coming forward to share stories of 
        unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures, including full or partial 
        hysterectomies and other procedures involving their reproductive organs, 
        performed without their knowledge or consent;
Whereas, on September 16, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nearly 
        deported a woman who was formerly detained at Irwin County Detention 
        Center who had one fallopian tube removed without her knowledge or 
        consent;
Whereas, on September 18, 2020, 4 women came forward saying that they did not 
        approve of the procedures they received;
Whereas an initial review of available medical records by independent 
        gynecologists raises serious questions about whether patients detained 
        at the Irwin County Detention Center provided informed consent and 
        whether prevailing standards of care were adhered to in their care; and
Whereas these allegations indicate a failure by U.S. Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement to conduct rigorous oversight to protect the health and 
        safety of people in its custody: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns performing unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on 
        individuals without their full, informed consent;
            (2) recognizes that everyone deserves to control their own 
        reproductive choices and make informed choices about their bodies;
            (3) recognizes that further accountability, oversight, and 
        transparency is necessary to protect people in the custody of U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
            (4) calls on the Department of Homeland Security to--
                    (A) pause the removal of any individual who experienced any 
                medical procedure at the Irwin County Detention Center;
                    (B) allow individuals who may have experienced an 
                unnecessary or nonconsensual procedure to have immediate access 
                to adequate, safe, and consensual medical treatment or to seek a 
                second opinion from an independent medical professional;
                    (C) immediately comply with all investigations and records 
                requests related to investigations about the Irwin County 
                Detention Center;
                    (D) ensure impacted individuals are able to freely 
                participate in any investigation and share their stories without 
                fear of reprisal; and
                    (E) hold all individuals found to be involved in any 
                unnecessary or nonconsensual medical procedure at the Irwin 
                County Detention Center accountable and bring them to justice.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.