2006-02-22 15:13:12

Teachers in Indian State told to look for people to be sterilized


In India’s northern State of Uttar Pradesh, public school teachers are now required to promote sterilisation among students and their families. Such a policy has come into being after a district judge issued an order, forcing teachers, public servants and village leaders to fulfill a “sterilisation” quota by March 31, on pains of dismissal, suspension or transfer.
Mons. Stanislaus Fernandes, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India - CBCI , told AsiaNews that the Catholic Church “strongly condemns this sterilisation plan , which is contrary to God’s laws and morality, and which must be stopped without delay for the good of the nation.” The order issued by Judge Amrit Abhijat is “unacceptable and contrary to divine laws”, he said.
Teachers are equally shocked by the new “task” imposed on them. “We are treated like bonded labourers,” said Ravi Prasad Chaurasia, a primary school teacher in the district. “ Are we supposed to teach students or ask them to bring their parents to medical camps for sterilisation? Under the court order, Class III employees in the Medical and Health Department are required to bring ten people for sterilisation. Targets for village leaders have not been announced but some of them have already started to recruit victims. Speaking to the local press, Judge Abhijat said that it was necessary to make family planning a success.
Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman and director of the CBCI’s Media and Communications Department, told AsiaNews that “Judge Abhijat’s order cannot but shock every Indian . It is shocking first of all because it involves people, who educate the young, and secondly because family planning falls within the jurisdiction of the Health department and not the Courts. “The Church cannot accept a barbarous practice like sterilization. It promotes instead natural methods of family planning which is the only path for a responsible population policy, he said and added: - “ Above all, the Church wants to protect human dignity and honour. Human being should be allowed to make their own decisions in every field that pertains to them, including the family.”







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