We’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. A lot of nurses and other health care providers were very concerned about retaliation. Since filming “Belly of the Beast,” Justice Now has shifted its focus toward working “to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons,” according to the group’s mission statement. And so, as Kelli mentioned, it’s really essential to us to draw those parallels historically and present day, so that people are forced to confront our history and our history of genocide. More Republican women are running for the U.S. House than ever before. Nine months after her surgery, she began having menopausal symptoms and lost more than 100 pounds. So by this time, I was ready to go up against whoever. It wants to litigate LGBTQ+ people out of existence, say advocates. And so a lot of people inside actually don’t do that out of fear of retaliation. Can we talk a little bit about the history? Then he asked if Dillon wanted more children. When I heard it, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, like, that’s my story.’ It really was a wake up call and it strengthened me, and gave me more courage. These procedures happened so frequently that some referred to them as the “surgery of the month.”. “She really directed that process in terms she was comfortable with,” Cohn said. I was waiting on that moment to happen. Will they win? Dillon: While we were trying to pick up momentum for “Belly of the Beast,” that’s when Dawn Wooten also came out [with the whistleblower report alleging hysterectomies in an ICE detention center in Georgia]. It’s the same for people who are either currently or formerly incarcerated. This too shall pass.”. “I trusted this surgeon to respect and to acknowledge that I still had a future and that I wanted one. Cohn: It took a long time to find people who would be comfortable speaking about what happened. Watching this film during the pandemic, particularly the part where, Kelli, you’re cleaning the sink and talking about being a germaphobe and picking up extreme cleaning habits in prison, I wondered about how you’re doing right now. “When I came out, I felt like something was wrong,” she said. Welcome to The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. There was a nurse whose face is blacked out, who essentially says she doesn’t know whether sterilizations in prison should be illegal or not because it saves the state money. I was ready to fight everybody. What is your response to people upholding this system? To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Cohn: I was primarily concerned throughout this process about how people inside would experience retaliation, and that was a very real and raw conversation that we had in the process of making the film. Cohn: That was a conversation that Kelli and I had a lot making the film: How do we make it abundantly clear that this is not just California, this is not just Kelli? The Georgia story “is not an isolated incident. But also, it was hard. Even with that story, I think the reaction was ‘This is something that has never happened in this country,’ let alone something that happened, and is well documented, in California prisons too. And one of the reasons that it’s so difficult to have any legal redress for sterilization survivors is the statute of limitations, as you see in Kelli’s case. Dillon: That happy ending has been a journey in itself as well. Also in 2010, she met Cynthia Chandler, the Bay Area activist and attorney who’s one of the main figures in “Belly of the Beast,” which will debut in virtual cinemas — including the Salt Lake Film Society’s SLFS@Home platform — on Friday, before airing on PBS’ “Independent Lens” on Nov. 23. (Photo courtesy of PBS) Activist and former inmate Kelli Dillon, right, flanked by activist Courtney Hooks, testifies before the California Legislature, in a moment captured in director Erika Cohn's documentary "Belly of the Beast," about forced sterilizations in women's prisons. I am embracing my feelings of peace, of safety, of contentment, and the fact that that is making me have a smile on my face. That advocacy included going on camera with Cohn. When we think about eugenics today, we are witnessing systemic racism and population control — through policing, through imprisonment, through the immigration detention system and lack of access to health care. “Even if it’s not medically necessary, it could or would in the long run save the state funds … The ideal time to do it to them is when you’re already in there. In the film, Kelli, you wonder when your happy ending is coming. Now 44, Dillon says it feels “ordained” that this film will release not long after a whistleblower alleged that a gynecologist performed hysterectomies on detained migrants without their full consent at a Georgia immigration detention center. While incarcerated, Dillon connected other prisoners who’d been sterilized with Justice Now, and their voices are featured in the film. What was happening, was such an ordained time. And we’re seen as burdens on the system. That it’s giving me the continuation of hope. So what was the process of you deciding to re-live everything in the documentary world? Have questions? In conversation with The 19th, Dillon and the film’s director and producer, Erika Cohn, discuss the pandemic, the eugenics movement and the alleged hysterectomies in a Georgia ICE detention center. Dillon, who served 15 years for killing her abusive husband, was 24 when a doctor found cysts in her uterus. Instead of wanting a picture of what that happiness is supposed to look like, I’m actually looking forward to the surprise of what it’s going to be. Become one. I felt that I was going to be judged, because I have been judged in so many different areas of my life, and there was no compassion or consideration for the trauma that I have been through. It was those statistics that Justice Now had documented and was fighting to end. Angela Tucker, Christen Marquez, Nicole Docta. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines. Please try again later. That screening is limited to 150 tickets.). When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. And I spoke to a lot of my sisters that were formerly incarcerated, they were also triggered. Did it happen to me because I was an inmate? sltrib.com © 1996-2020 The Salt Lake Tribune. Number one, in terms of being locked down — like, that took me back. “When I first met Kelli, I was just blown away.”. ‘Belly of the Beast’ The documentary “Belly of the Beast,” about the forced sterilization of women in California prisons, was directed by Salt Lake City-based filmmaker Erika Cohn. Our team sent Freedom of Information Act requests to states all over the country. In addition to people … Chandler is no longer associated with Justice Now, and is now director of the Bay Area Legal Incubator, which helps fledgling lawyers start practices to serve low- and middle-income communities. This is eugenics as an ideology. She had panic attacks, lost 100 pounds and sweated at night — all symptoms of surgical menopause. We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. Belly of the Beast When an unlikely duo discovers a pattern of illegal sterilizations in women’s prisons, they wage a near impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. If you can perpetuate that lie, and perpetuate those issues, then it’s easier to get not only the buy in for the agenda and the policy to sterilize us, but you can also get the person who thinks they have a moral high standard of preserving life … you can get them to buy into that bullshit too. But it was in Erica’s kindness, her understanding of eugenics and understanding of the history of sterilization, the U.S. history of sterilization is what actually gave me the feeling of trust — to trust her with my story. Then I found out that these motherfuckers took my ability to even be a mother again. https://marypatriotnews.com/belly-of-the-beast-justen-wes-faull-video Please email [email protected]. (In her research, Cohn found other states had systems similar to California’s. (Photo courtesy of PBS) Activist and former inmate Kelli Dillon, right, and lawyer/activist Cynthia Chandler are two of the main figures in director Erika Cohn's documentary "Belly of the Beast," about forced sterilizations in women's prisons. It wasn’t just one person — it was the whole fucking system. She had been separated from her two boys — in her 15 years at CCWF, she would only see them five times — and she dreamed of being able to raise a family hands on when she was free. Utah, on the other hand, is one of six states that responded to Cohen’s Freedom of Information Act requests by saying they did not perform sterilizations on inmates or had a ban against the practice.).

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