 Since its development, female sterilization has been periodically performed on patients without their informed consent, often specifically targeting marginalized populations.Given this history of human rights abuses, current sterilization policy in the United States requires a mandatory waiting period for tubal sterilization on Medicaid beneficiaries.This waiting period is not required for private insurance beneficiaries, which has the effect of selectively restricting low-income women's access to tubal sterilization.