Project Prevention
Encyclopedia
Project Prevention is an American non-profit organization
that pays drug addicts cash for volunteering for long-term birth control
, including sterilization. Originally based in California and now based in North Carolina, the organization began operating in the United Kingdom in 2010. The organization offers US$300 (£200 in the UK) to each participant. Barbara Harris founded the organization in 1997 after she and her husband adopted the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth children of a drug-addicted mother. As of 7 October 2011 the organization had paid 3,848 clients.
The organization has been controversial, with some comparing it to the eugenics
movement.
in 1997 as Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK) after she and her husband adopted one-by-one as each was born the latter four of eight children from a drug-addicted mother. Each of the four adopted children is separated in age by only one year. With the experience of helping the children through withdrawal
and other health problems, she tried to get legislation passed in California that would have mandated long-term birth control for mothers who gave birth to babies who were exposed to cocaine as fetuses
. After this failed she started what is now called Project Prevention.
, including sterilization. The organization offers US$300 (£200 in the UK) to each participant. The New York Times
reports that the organization initially offered more money to women who chose tubal ligation
s and men who chose vasectomies
than to those who chose long-term birth control like intrauterine device
s, but criticism forced them to adopt a flat rate. To receive the money, clients have to show evidence they have been arrested on a drug-related offence, or provide a doctor's certificate saying they use drugs, and further evidence is needed confirming that the birth-control procedure has taken place. The organization keeps statistics on its activities through survey forms that all participants fill out, before any procedure is completed. As of August 2011 based on survey forms from 3,848 clients it had paid: 1,996 (51.9%) were Caucasian
; 956 (24.8%) African American
; 484 (12.6%) Hispanic
; 412 (10.7%) other.
Harris was asked about these comments and said, "Well, you know my son that goes to Stanford said ‘mom, please don’t ever say that again,’ but it’s the truth, they don’t just have one and two babies, they have litters." More recently, Harris has offered a softer response to criticism: "I guess it depends on where your heart is. Some people are so into the women and their rights to get pregnant that they seem to forget about the rights of the kids. They act like these children don't matter. People need to realize these women don't want to have babies that are taken away from them. Nothing positive comes to the woman who has eight children taken away from her."
Critics argue that preferring that babies be born not addicted to drugs or otherwise disabled is a manifestation of an able-bodied supremacist notion of the value of human life.
Opponents of the organization often argue that it should instead focus on addiction treatment or lobbying for government health care. The organization responds by saying that they do not have the resources to solve "national problems of poverty, housing, nutrition, education and rehabilitation services. Those resources we do have are spent to PREVENT a problem for $300 rather than paying millions after it happens in cost to care for a potentially damaged child." Weaning one opoid-addicted baby off drugs costs about $500,000.
The organization has been criticized in the UK. Addaction
, an addiction charity, said its practices are "morally reprehensible and irrelevant". Martin Barnes, CEO of DrugScope
, said the organization's activities were exploitative, ethically dubious, and morally questionable. Harris admitted her methods amounted to bribery, but said it was the only way to stop babies being physically and mentally damaged by drugs during pregnancy. The British Medical Association
(BMA) said it did not have a view on the organization:
broadcasted a program, Sterilising The Addicts, about the organization—a similar program, Addicts: No Children Allowed, was broadcast in Scotland by BBC Scotland
.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that pays drug addicts cash for volunteering for long-term birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
, including sterilization. Originally based in California and now based in North Carolina, the organization began operating in the United Kingdom in 2010. The organization offers US$300 (£200 in the UK) to each participant. Barbara Harris founded the organization in 1997 after she and her husband adopted the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth children of a drug-addicted mother. As of 7 October 2011 the organization had paid 3,848 clients.
The organization has been controversial, with some comparing it to the eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
movement.
History
Barbara Harris founded the organization in Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
in 1997 as Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK) after she and her husband adopted one-by-one as each was born the latter four of eight children from a drug-addicted mother. Each of the four adopted children is separated in age by only one year. With the experience of helping the children through withdrawal
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...
and other health problems, she tried to get legislation passed in California that would have mandated long-term birth control for mothers who gave birth to babies who were exposed to cocaine as fetuses
Prenatal cocaine exposure
Prenatal cocaine exposure occurs when a pregnant woman uses cocaine and thereby exposes her fetus to the drug. Crack baby was a term coined to describe children who were exposed to crack as fetuses; the concept of the crack baby emerged in the US during the 1980s and 90s in the midst of a great...
. After this failed she started what is now called Project Prevention.
Activities
Project Prevention says their main goal is to promote awareness of the dangers of using drugs during pregnancy. They are better known, however, for paying drug addicts cash for volunteering for long-term birth controlBirth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
, including sterilization. The organization offers US$300 (£200 in the UK) to each participant. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reports that the organization initially offered more money to women who chose tubal ligation
Tubal ligation
Tubal ligation or tubectomy is a surgical procedure for sterilization in which a woman's fallopian tubes are clamped and blocked, or severed and sealed, either method of which prevents eggs from reaching the uterus for fertilization...
s and men who chose vasectomies
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
than to those who chose long-term birth control like intrauterine device
Intrauterine device
A copper IUD is a type of intrauterine device. Most IUDs have a plastic T- or U-shaped frame which is wrapped in copper wire, with the exception of Gynefix, which is a plastic string with several copper beads, affixed to the fundus of the uterus...
s, but criticism forced them to adopt a flat rate. To receive the money, clients have to show evidence they have been arrested on a drug-related offence, or provide a doctor's certificate saying they use drugs, and further evidence is needed confirming that the birth-control procedure has taken place. The organization keeps statistics on its activities through survey forms that all participants fill out, before any procedure is completed. As of August 2011 based on survey forms from 3,848 clients it had paid: 1,996 (51.9%) were Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
; 956 (24.8%) African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
; 484 (12.6%) Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
; 412 (10.7%) other.
Criticism and response
The organization has provoked controversy, partly from the way in which it promotes its activities, including allegedly targeting poor and minority neighborhoods for the placement of billboard advertising. The messages contain slogans such as "Don’t let pregnancy get in the way of your crack habit" and "She has her Daddy’s eyes and her Mommy’s heroin addiction". In interviews Harris said "We don’t allow dogs to breed. We spay them. We neuter them. We try to keep them from having unwanted puppies, and yet these women are literally having litters of children", and that "we campaign to neuter dogs and yet we allow women to have 10 or 12 kids that they can’t take care of". On the television news program 60 Minutes II60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II was a weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.It aired on CBS on Wednesdays, then later moved to Fridays at 8 p.m...
Harris was asked about these comments and said, "Well, you know my son that goes to Stanford said ‘mom, please don’t ever say that again,’ but it’s the truth, they don’t just have one and two babies, they have litters." More recently, Harris has offered a softer response to criticism: "I guess it depends on where your heart is. Some people are so into the women and their rights to get pregnant that they seem to forget about the rights of the kids. They act like these children don't matter. People need to realize these women don't want to have babies that are taken away from them. Nothing positive comes to the woman who has eight children taken away from her."
Critics argue that preferring that babies be born not addicted to drugs or otherwise disabled is a manifestation of an able-bodied supremacist notion of the value of human life.
Opponents of the organization often argue that it should instead focus on addiction treatment or lobbying for government health care. The organization responds by saying that they do not have the resources to solve "national problems of poverty, housing, nutrition, education and rehabilitation services. Those resources we do have are spent to PREVENT a problem for $300 rather than paying millions after it happens in cost to care for a potentially damaged child." Weaning one opoid-addicted baby off drugs costs about $500,000.
United Kingdom
Project Prevention began operating in the UK in 2010. In May 2010 a woman, not an addict, was leaving a clinic in Glasgow in what she described as "the Possilpark area - it's a well-known area for drugs" accompanied by her nine-year-old son when she was approached by three women who said they were from the organization and who offered her £200 if she agreed to be sterilized. The woman said the same group had been approaching other women, and she later informed Strathclyde police, who advised anyone approached in a similar way to contact them. The first UK client was "John", a drug user since the age of 12, who accepted money to have a vasectomy, saying he should never be a father.The organization has been criticized in the UK. Addaction
Addaction
Addaction is a British charity founded in 1967 and working with people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The charity works extensively throughout England and Scotland, with administrative base in Farringdon, central London.- Beginnings :...
, an addiction charity, said its practices are "morally reprehensible and irrelevant". Martin Barnes, CEO of DrugScope
DrugScope
DrugScope is a UK based charity. It is the main UK membership organisation for those working in the drugs field and its aim is to inform the public about drugs, inform policy development and reduce drug-related harms...
, said the organization's activities were exploitative, ethically dubious, and morally questionable. Harris admitted her methods amounted to bribery, but said it was the only way to stop babies being physically and mentally damaged by drugs during pregnancy. The British Medical Association
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
(BMA) said it did not have a view on the organization:
On 18 October 2010 the BBC
As with all requests for treatment, doctors need to be confident that the individual has the capacity to make the specific decision at the time the decision is required. The BMA's ethics committee also believes that doctors should inform patients of the benefits of reversible contraception so that the patients have more reproductive choices in the future.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcasted a program, Sterilising The Addicts, about the organization—a similar program, Addicts: No Children Allowed, was broadcast in Scotland by BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
.
Ireland
Harris said in 2010 that Project Prevention might expand their activities to Ireland. In response Fiona Weldon, clinical director of Dublin addictions treatment facility, the Rutland Centre, said it was "absolutely horrendous", and that the organization was misguided and could be leaving itself open to litigation in the future. Tony Geoghegan, CEO of drug addiction and homeless charity Merchants Quay Ireland, said it was inappropriate to sterilize addicts.Sources
- Paltrow, Lynn M. (Winter 2003). . The Journal of Law in Society (Wayne State UniversityWayne State UniversityWayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
) 5 (11): 11–117.
Further reading
- Yeoman, Barry. "Surgical strike". Mother JonesMother Jones (magazine)Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
. November/December 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2010. - Jensen, Brennen. "Leave No Child Behind". Baltimore City PaperBaltimore City PaperBaltimore City Paper is a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. Current owner Times-Shamrock Communications purchased the paper in 1987...
. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 21 October 2010. - "National Advocates for Pregnant Women Condemns C.R.A.C.K. Campaign Targeting Methadone Clinics". National Advocates for Pregnant Women. 29 April 2002. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- Basu, Paroma. "CRACK Comes to New York". Village Voice. 29 October 2002. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- Malisow, Craig. "Deal of a Lifetime". Houston PressHouston PressThe Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
. 27 February 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2010. - Murphy, Clare. "Selling sterilisation to addicts". BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. 2 September 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2010. - Shimer, Katie. "An Inconceivable Solution?". Portland Mercury. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- "Project ups money offered to addicts who have themselves sterilized". North County TimesNorth County TimesThe North County Times is a local newspaper in north San Diego County, California owned by Lee Enterprises. It is headquartered in Escondido. The current publisher is Peter York....
. 14 January 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2010. - Young, Niki May. "US charity offering addicts cash for sterilisation plans UK expansion". Civil Society Media. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.. National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Retrieved 21 October 2010. For the accompanying blog post, see Burrows, Cassandra. "C.R.A.C.K. Program – Personal Empowerment or Control of Certain Populations?". National Advocates for Pregnant Women. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- Young, Niki May. "Project Prevention coming to the UK, but not as a charity". Civil Society Media. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- Rothschild, Nathalie. "The British elite prefers polite Malthusianism". SpikedSpiked (magazine)Spiked is a British Internet magazine focusing on politics, culture and society from a humanist and libertarian viewpoint.- Editors and contributors :...
. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010. - Orr, Deborah. "Project Prevention puts the price of a vasectomy—and for forfeiting a future—at £200". The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
External links
- Project Prevention
- "C.R.A.C.K.". National Advocates for Pregnant Women.
- "IUDs to Prevent HIV in Kenya?". The Nation.