The Importance of Protecting Children

If an adult wants to go make the decision to give up his or her ability to have children, you can do that. If you sterilize a child, you're engaged in child abuse. You don't have a right to say, I've decided that my child will never be able to have children of his or her own. That's not your right. An adult can make that decision. A child doesn't have the maturity and an adult doesn’t have the right. When it comes to protecting children from sexual violence, I have spent decades doing this.