Nucená sterilizace v komunistickém Československu. Státní podpora porušování lidských práv skrze zdravotnictví a sociální služby
Forced Sterilization in Communist Czechoslovakia. State Support for Human Rights Violations through Healthcare and Social Services

Summary/Abstract: In communist Czechoslovakia, state policies targeting the Roma minority evolved from forced settlement and social classification to one of the most egregious violations of human rights: coerced sterilization. Beginning in the 1960s under the guise of “planned parenthood,” authorities introduced measures that legalized sterilization for non-medical reasons, later incentivizing it through financial rewards. These practices, framed as efforts to improve population quality, disproportionately affected Roma women, often without informed consent and sometimes through manipulation or deception. Despite international treaties and domestic opposition, sterilizations continued into the late 1980s, driven by racial prejudice and eugenic ideology. Post-1989 investigations revealed systemic abuse, yet accountability remained elusive. Only decades later did Czech and Slovak governments acknowledge the harm, enacting compensation laws for victims sterilized between 1966 and 2012. This dark chapter underscores how state-sanctioned discrimination intertwined with medical authority to perpetuate structural racism, leaving lasting scars on marginalized communities.

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