Abstract

This article discusses the experience of an Icelandic woman with intellectual disabilities who was sterilized and how she has dealt with it. It also reflects on some ethical and methodological issues that arise during inclusive life history research. The article is based on cooperation between two women, Eygló Ebba Hreinsdóttir, who was labelled with intellectual disabilities when she moved to an institution in Iceland in the 1970s, and the researcher Gu?rún V. Stefánsdóttir. Since 2003 we have worked closely together on an inclusive life history project. The article is based on a recorded conversation between Ebba and Gudrun and the work of the Icelandic women's history group in which both participated for three years. Ebba was sterilized when she was 14 years old but didn't know about the sterilization until she was 27. The article describes the deep emotional impact and how she came to terms with it