A DRUG ADDICT IN the UK has become the first person to take part in a controversial project under which drug addicts agree to be sterilised in return for cash.

The Guardian reports that the 38-year-old, known only as John, has been addicted to opiates for 15 years. He told the BBC’s London’s Inside Out programme that he had been thinking about getting a vasectomy for a number of years and the offer of cash had given him the push to go through with it.

John said he was surprised to learn he was the first person to take part in the scheme in Britain, saying “I would have thought people would be snapping up the offer”.

He said he would spend the £200 he received on overdue rent and shopping.

The controversial scheme, named Project Prevention, is the brainchild of American campaigner Barbara Harris.

Harris says she was inspired to create the scheme after she adopted four children from a crack addict mother, and saw the effects of secondary addiction first-hand. She explains her reasons for campaigning for sterilisation of drug addicts to the BBC programme:

I got very angry about the damage that these drugs do to these children… It was unbelievable. Isaiah could not sleep, he couldn’t eat, his eyes were big, noise bothered him, light bothered him. It broke my heart.

I was angry at the mum. And then my anger turned a little bit to … why did we allow her to do that?

Harris dismissed the criticism she received from people who disagreed with the project:

I’ve been called everything. I’ve been spat on. Typically I just say to my critics: if you believe these women should continue to take drugs and have children, then step up in line and adopt their babies. It’s that simple.

Project Prevention has paid more than 3,500 American men and women addicted to drugs or alcohol not to have children.

Addicts in the UK are now being offered the same deal. The organisation also offers long-term birth control to addicts, such as intrauterine contraceptive devices or a contraceptive implant.

John explained his reasons for going ahead with his vasectomy:

I won’t be able to support a kid. I can just about manage to support myself. Just about got it together to do that.

It is estimated that more than 1,000 babies are born to mothers addicted to drugs or alcohol in the UK every year.

What do you think about offering drug addicts money in return for sterilisation?

Is it a responsible solution to a sad truth – or a crude and callous way of addressing the problem of drug addiction?