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Court Rules: Apology Only for Sterilized Woman

Monday, January 22, 2007
A court in the Olomouc region of the Czech Republic has ruled that a hospital in that region should apologize to a Roma woman, age 24, for sterilizing her without her consent.  However, the court also ruled that she is not entitled to any compensation.  She had requested one million crowns (about $45,000 USD).

The woman, Helena Ferencikova, was sterilized in 2001 after the birth of her second child.  Doctors claimed that she had signed a letter of consent, but Mrs. Ferencikova said that she was only given the document when in active labor.

This is the first case of around eighty complaints by Romany women that they were sterilized without permission.  This ruling confirms an earlier decision against which both Mrs. Ferencikova and the hospital appealed.  The court has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether or not Mrs. Ferencikova is entitled to financial compensation for moral damages she suffered.

Compiled from:  Radio Prague News for 17 January 2007, by Jan Velinger.  See www.radio.cz for 17/01/07.

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