Retarded Woman Faces Sterilization
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PHILADELPHIA — The mother of a severely retarded woman is planning to have her sterilized after a Supreme Court justice refused to block the operation.
But the legal guardian for Cindy Wasiek, a 26-year-old with the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, has vowed to appeal the case to the full Supreme Court--even if it is too late to stop the sterilization.
“There are such important issues at stake,” Lorrie McKinley said.
Justice David H. Souter denied without comment Friday an emergency request from McKinley to bar the operation.
Delores Wasiek, who fears her daughter could become pregnant, said she was going ahead with the surgery, which she has been seeking since 1987.
McKinley has argued the operation is unnecessary and would set back the rights of retarded people to maintain control of their own lives.
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