The Role of Reproductive Injustice in the Access of Motherhood for Women With Intellectual Disabilities: A Narrative Literature Review.
Coralie Mercerat, Laura Pacheco, Marjorie Aunos and 5 others
PMID 40583120WHAT IT FOUND
Women with intellectual disabilities face systemic barriers to parenthood, often justified by ableist or eugenic discourses.
Sterilisation and long-term contraception are frequently imposed by third parties for menstrual management or perceived 'best interests,' rather than through informed consent.
Key findings
01Reproductive injustice for women with intellectual disabilities is maintained through discourses that frame them as incapable of parenting or as a societal burden.
02Sterilisation and long-term contraception are often decided by family, doctors, or courts, with women's consent frequently bypassed or uninformed.
03Professionals report discomfort in assessing decision-making capacity, leading to reliance on substitute decision-makers rather than supporting the woman's autonomy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The definition of 'reproductive injustice' varies across the literature, which may have led to the exclusion of relevant studies. Only English and French publications were included, limiting global representation and potentially excluding perspectives from the Global South. The review focused exclusively on cisgender girls and women, excluding the experiences of nonbinary and gender-diverse individuals. Most included studies focused on institutional settings, so little is known about reproductive injustice in community-based contexts.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Women and Gender Equality Canada.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the frequent use of sterilisation for 'menstrual management' as a clinically necessary intervention. The review shows this practice is often driven by ableist assumptions about hygiene and capacity, rather than the woman's own medical need or consent.