Dear team,

I want to tell you the story of our client, Francisca.

In 2002, at the age of 20, Francisca was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled c-section in Curicó, Chile. After delivering a healthy baby, Francisca's doctor surgically sterilized her without her consent—simply because she was HIV-positive. She found out a few hours after waking up from anesthesia.

Outraged by Francisca's tragic story, the Center and Chilean-based HIV/AIDS NGO Vivo Positivo filed a case on her behalf in 2009 before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after an earlier criminal complaint against the surgeon was unjustly dismissed. The petition aimed to hold the Chilean government accountable for failing to protect Francisca from being forcibly sterilized.

People living with HIV are often exposed to social and economic barriers that deepen violations of their human rights, and forcing a person to undergo sterilization is a serious violation of the right to bodily autonomy.

Today, 19 years after Francisca was forcibly sterilized, Chile signed a friendly settlement agreement, which awards full reparations to Francisca and her child and requires Chile to implement policies to guarantee reproductive rights as human rights without discrimination.

Francisca still wakes up every morning feeling a profound sense of loss for the large family she always dreamed of having but knows will never be. This agreement is one step toward justice—not just for Francisca and her child, but for pregnant people across Chile.

You played a vital role in securing justice for Francisca and protecting the reproductive rights of people around the world.

I'm incredibly grateful for your partnership.

Thank you,

Catalina Martínez Coral
Senior Regional Director for Latin America & the Caribbean