Mom of 9 sues for unwanted sterilization

BOSTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A Boston mother of nine has sued a hospital and medical personnel allegedly for permanently sterilizing her against her will.

Tessa Savicki, 35, whose children range in age from 3 to 21, said she provided an intra-uterine device to healthcare professionals to be installed after her last Caesarean-section, but they instead performed a tubal ligation, which Savicki said she had not authorized, the Boston Herald reported Sunday.

Savicki's nine children were fathered by several men. She is unemployed and receives public aid for two of the four children who reside with her, receives supplemental security income because she has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, her mother has custody of three of the children, and two of her children are no longer minors, she said.

Savicki's fiance, Angel Flores Tirado, 36, lives with her and helps support the family -- three of the children are his -- with his full time position as a personal care assistant. She said she had hoped to have one more child with Tirado.

Savicki said she realized some people may not have much sympathy for her, but said she should not be judged on the basis of being a poor, single mother of 9.

"I would never have the right to tell anyone else 'because you have this many kids, that's enough,'" she said.

"I take care of my kids. I love my kids. I was not ready to make that kind of decision (for permanent sterilization)," she said.