North Carolina to Be First to Compensate Forced Sterilization Victims
North Carolina is one of *many* states that for decades forcibly sterilized people it considered “undesirable,” without their consent and sometimes even without their knowledge.
It sounds like a horrifying practice that must have been a long time ago, but there are people still alive who were violated in this way.
Now, North Carolina is set to become the first state to compensate victims, setting aside $10 million to pay off about 1,500 people estimated to still be alive (the practice supposedly stopped in 1974). They estimate something like 7,600 people were forcibly sterilized on that state.
They sure didn’t hurry, though. Most states seem to be simply avoiding this gross violation of human rights and dignity until everyone they victimized dies off and can’t complain. And hey, the state effectively limited their having m/any children who could take up their cause afterward.
Dear More Than Half the States Remaining – step up. Do it now.