Uzbekistan: Birth-Control Campaign Underway

A drive to reduce the birth rate in Uzbekistan has both doctors and women resorting to faking paperwork in order to create the appearance of compliance with the government's wishes.

According to the opposition website Uznews.net, Ministry of Health officials began pressing for an expansion of birth control measures at the start of 2010. The January 27 report went on to say that "foreign donors" have supplied the Health Ministry with thousands of IUDs, a form of intrauterine contraception known as a 'coil.'

Women who agree to have an IUD implanted are reportedly being told that it must remain in place for three years. However, the news website adds that some women who decline to have devices implanted are nonetheless being asked by doctors to sign papers giving their consent, in order to satisfy Health Ministry inspectors.

"The gynecologist urged me in a whisper to at least sign the paper saying the coil was fitted. The doctor warned me that if I didn't meet her at my next appointment but an inspector from the Ministry of Health, I must say, 'Yes, I took the coil' and that I got it removed somewhere else," Uznews.net quoted one patient at a Tashkent clinic.

"I agreed to sign [the form] because if I didn't there would be constant calls trying to persuade me to come to back to the gynecologist."