Canadian police won’t investigate doctor for sterilizing Indigenous woman

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

Police in Canada say they will not pursue a criminal investigation into a recent case in which a doctor sterilized an Inuit woman without her consent. The Canadian government says anyone who commits forced sterilization could be subject to assault charges. But the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they would not be investigating the doctor, because the woman hasn’t filed a criminal complaint. The woman’s lawyer says she remains traumatized from having participated in a medical board investigation. Some legal experts say there is other evidence the police could rely on for a possible criminal case. The physician, Dr. Andrew Kotaska, declined to comment to the AP. He has said he was acting in what he thought was the woman’s best interest.