A Pregnancy Almost Denied
A Baby Named Sage, and the Fight for Reproductive Justice in Canada
On March 20, 2024, Katy Bear gave birth to her fifth child, a healthy baby girl named Sage. The name, meaning “good medicine,” was chosen with deep intention, symbolizing healing, resilience, and a future rooted in self-determination.
However, this moment was two decades in the making and carried the weight of loss, coercion, and systemic injustice. Katy Bear was only 21 years old when she was coerced into undergoing a sterilization procedure without being fully informed. Two decades later, after a surgical reversal and incredible perseverance, she welcomed her fifth child, her first since reclaiming her bodily autonomy.
On May 20, Katy Bear's story was featured in an article by CBC News, which highlighted the broader legacy of the forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada. The full article, “A Pregnancy Almost Denied,” was written by Katie Kyle and Juanita Taylor.
Sage’s arrival is not just a new beginning.
It represents a mother’s journey to reclaim her body and her rights from a system built on colonization, coercion, and control.
At just 21 years old and alone in a hospital, she was told that if she didn’t agree to a “contraceptive procedure,” her children would be taken by Child and Family Services. Out of fear and without proper information, she consented. What she didn’t know at the time, and what no one told her, was that she was being permanently sterilized through a tubal ligation.
She remembers waking up confused and shivering in recovery, the realization dawning slowly.
“What did they just do to me?” she recalls thinking.
What they did to Katy Bear is what has been done to thousands of Indigenous women across Canada, a violation of bodily autonomy masked as medicine, justified through fear, and upheld by a legacy of colonial violence.
According to a 2019 report, more than 100 Indigenous women have come forward with similar stories of being sterilized without full, informed, and voluntary consent. Most were not offered any other form of birth control. Many were given misleading information. Some were told the procedure was reversible. Others were told they wouldn’t be able to see their children unless they agreed.
This isn’t history. This is now.
When we share stories like Katy’s, people often respond with disbelief. Surely this is something from Canada’s dark past? But if we listened to Indigenous communities, we would know that coerced and forced sterilizations are not relics. They are still happening. They are still justified through systems of medical racism, colonialism, and the paternalistic view that Indigenous women are “unfit” to mother.
To understand how we got here, we must look at the roots: the Canadian eugenics movement of the early 1900s. This racist and classist ideology sought to “improve” the population by preventing marginalized groups from reproducing.
In Alberta and British Columbia, sterilization laws were passed that allowed for the non-consensual sterilization of people deemed unfit, disproportionately targeting Indigenous women, disabled people, and those living in poverty. Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act wasn’t repealed until 1972. B.C.'s law lasted until 1973.
The repeal of the law didn’t stop the practice. It just changed its form.
Doctors and hospitals continued to perform sterilizations under the guise of medical advice. Consent was often obtained during or immediately after childbirth, when women were exhausted, in pain, or under duress. Many were never told the truth. Others were outright threatened or lied to.
Let’s be clear: Coercion is not consent.
Consent must be:
Informed: Patients have the right to know about the procedure, its risks, alternatives, and outcomes.
Specific: Consent for one procedure is not consent for another.
Voluntary: It cannot be extracted through pressure or threats.
Truthful: It cannot be based on misinformation or deception.
What happened to Katy Bear and thousands of others was a violation of these principles and human rights.
The trauma from coerced sterilization runs deep. It disrupts families and communities. It causes profound grief and loss. And it creates generations of mistrust in the health care system. It is not enough to say we are sorry.
We must demand change.
In 2022, Senator Yvonne Boyer introduced Bill S-250, a proposed law that would criminalize forced and coerced sterilization with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Boyer, a Métis woman and longtime advocate for Indigenous health justice, estimates that at least 12,000 Indigenous women in Canada have been subjected to these procedures, likely more. The bill reached the House of Commons in fall 2023 and awaits its first reading.
“We're going to be having doctors that are going to be thinking, ‘Well, perhaps I'd better think twice about cutting that fallopian tube,’” said Boyer. “I'll never give up. Not until this is law.”
And neither will Katy Bear.
After fighting for years to regain control over her reproductive health, she underwent surgical reversal and became pregnant again, this time on her own terms. This time with full agency, full consent, and full clarity. In doing so, she took back something that had been stolen.
Today, Katy Bear is a mother of five and an advocate, a voice for those who have endured what she has. Her story, featured in the CBC article “A Pregnancy Almost Denied,” is a testament to resilience and a call to action for all of us who care about justice, equity, and reproductive freedom.
Sage was born perfect. She is good medicine.
She reminds us that healing is possible, but only when we confront the truth, listen to survivors, and dismantle the systems that allowed this to happen in the first place.
Let this be our commitment: to center Indigenous voices, to uphold the right to consent, and never again to let fear or force dictate a person’s future.
Resources to Learn More and Take Action:
Read the full CBC article: A Pregnancy Almost Denied
Support the passage of Bill S-250 by contacting your MP.
Follow the work of Senator Yvonne Boyer
Support Indigenous-led reproductive justice organizations.
Educate health professionals on consent, cultural safety, and anti-racism.
Share the Knowing Your Rights Toolkit on Sexual and Reproductive Health from the Native Women's Association of Canada.
Because every person deserves the right to decide if, when, and how they become a parent freely, safely, and with dignity.