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19 Georgia Women Allege Medical Abuse In Trump Administration’s Immigration Detention

May alleged that a doctor pressured them to undergo surgeries that they didn’t need without their consent.

At least 19 women at a Georgia immigration facility are claiming that a doctor performed, or pressured them to undergo, “unnecessary” gynecological surgeries without their consent, some of which affected their ability to have children.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the new report was written by a team of nine board-certified OBGYNs and two nursing experts, each affiliated with academic medical centers who reviewed more than 3,200 pages of records obtained by the women. It comes just a month after a nurse whistleblower leaked news about the conditions at the Irwin County Detention Center, which sparked a series of congressional inquiries and federal investigations into immigrant women’s care at the facility, which is overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

All 19 women were patients of Dr. Mahendra Amin, the primary gynecologist at the facility, according to the report seen by the Times.

The report states that records showed an “alarming pattern” where Amin subjected the women to unwarranted, non-consensual gynecological surgeries. Some of them also have yet to be informed about which procedures were actually performed on them due to incomplete records and efforts to obstruct the team’s request for documents.

According to Azedeh Shahshahani, a legal director at Project South who assisted in filing the original complaint, said to Newsweek: "These shocking revelations further highlight the extent of the egregious abuses at the Irwin County Detention Center.

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"The fact that Black and brown immigrant women are held in an extremely vulnerable position at this prison where they have no control over their bodies and no say about what is done to them is sickening," she continued.

Shahshahani is now calling for the immediate shutdown of the center and those detained to be freed. "The United States Government as well as the private prison corporation running this prison should be held accountable,” she said.

Experts reported an “alarming pattern” where Amin would allegedly take “advantage of the vulnerability of women,” most of whom were Black and Latina, and “pressure them to agree to overly aggressive, inappropriate, and unconsented medical care.”

Tony Pham, a spokesman for the director of ICE, told Newsweek that the allegations raise “serious concerns that deserve to be investigated quickly and thoroughly”.

“It is my commitment to make the corrections necessary to ensure we continue to prioritize the health, welfare, and safety of Ice detainees,” he said.

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