This semester, I attended an event called True Tales from County Hospitals at the Ray Stark Theater. I had the opportunity to watch a documentary called No Mas Bebés and met the director. No Mas Bebés is a documentary that follows Madrigal vs. Quilligan lawsuit filed against L.A County hospital for sterilizing women without informed consent. Here is the background story.
During the 1960s, hospitals were taking actions to reduce human population growth. Their solution was to coercively sterilized women of Mexican origin. While waiting for an emergency cesarean section, these women were asked to sign an inform consent for sterilization. These women did not know how to read English, so they were clueless of the sterilization procedure. …show more content…
I was speechless by the inhumane practices in the healthcare system. This story was so enriching and thought provoking. I had a perfect image that the hospital was a place for doctors to heal patients’ illness and promote long term health. Instead, I learned problems exists within hospitals that prevent equal healing. I learned these women will be forever scar by having their rights violated. Surprisingly, these women who filed the lawsuit lost the case. I was shocked justices was not serve.
After the documentary, I was able to heard from Renee Tajima-Peña, the director of No Mas Bebés. She told the audience that her passion for creating this film was to increase the awareness of people about history. It had angered her so much that no one heard of this story. She believes storytelling was a way to allow the voice of these women to be heard. She helped empower these women by emphasizing the point this is a story worth telling. The women’s suffering matter and calls for change. This call for change allows healing to occur.
Watching the documentary and listening to Renee, I gain a better understanding of Health and Healing. I ask myself what ought to be done to heal this community? The answer was simple. I did not need to be a doctor, and all I had to do was share the
During the 1960s, hospitals were taking actions to reduce human population growth. Their solution was to coercively sterilized women of Mexican origin. While waiting for an emergency cesarean section, these women were asked to sign an inform consent for sterilization. These women did not know how to read English, so they were clueless of the sterilization procedure. …show more content…
I was speechless by the inhumane practices in the healthcare system. This story was so enriching and thought provoking. I had a perfect image that the hospital was a place for doctors to heal patients’ illness and promote long term health. Instead, I learned problems exists within hospitals that prevent equal healing. I learned these women will be forever scar by having their rights violated. Surprisingly, these women who filed the lawsuit lost the case. I was shocked justices was not serve.
After the documentary, I was able to heard from Renee Tajima-Peña, the director of No Mas Bebés. She told the audience that her passion for creating this film was to increase the awareness of people about history. It had angered her so much that no one heard of this story. She believes storytelling was a way to allow the voice of these women to be heard. She helped empower these women by emphasizing the point this is a story worth telling. The women’s suffering matter and calls for change. This call for change allows healing to occur.
Watching the documentary and listening to Renee, I gain a better understanding of Health and Healing. I ask myself what ought to be done to heal this community? The answer was simple. I did not need to be a doctor, and all I had to do was share the