Royal Commission demands ban on court-ordered sterilisation of non-consenting patients
The threshold for court intervention is variable, says Associate Professor Linda Steele.
Australian courts ordered the sterilisation of 14 adults last year, but for most cases, the clinical details were kept secret.
Now, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability says legalised non-consensual, non-therapeutic sterilisation should end by 2024 except in circumstances where a patient’s life is at risk.