Despite bans, disabled women in Europe are still sterilized

These types of decisions, involving people who almost certainly cannot give explicit consent, hang over the sterilization debate. Katrin Langensiepen, a German politician and one of the few visibly disabled Members of the European Parliament, is calling for a strict European ban on non-consensual sterilization. Many of history’s infamous eugenic practices, she said, were justified because they were in the best interests of the disabled person.

But she acknowledged that some parents saw things differently. “They have this deep, strong belief: I have to protect my children,” she said.

Ms. Hreidarsdottir’s 20-year-old daughter has soft eyes and a talent for puzzles. She likes audio books. In March, her mother explained that she would go to sleep and undergo surgery to feel better.

“I don’t think she understood,” Ms. Hreidarsdottir said. “But we always try to explain things.”

Real love

Even after her surgery, Mrs. Smith continued to dream of romance. She considered trying dating apps, but in every potential profile photo of herself, she only saw someone with Down syndrome.

Every summer she attended a camp for adults with disabilities. On those Icelandic nights, under a vast sky that never darkened, she walked, sang karaoke and mingled beyond her mother’s gaze. “I felt free,” she said.

There she met Sigurdur Haukur Vilhjalmsson, who also has Down syndrome, in the summer of 2020. They both liked pop songs and football. He was charming and had a goofy streak, a contrast to her more serious personality. He made her laugh.

At the age of 38 she had found love.