Compensation
More than 60,000 people were subjected to forced sterilization in the United States, and over time the practice grew to be recognized for what it was, a violation of human rights based on social prejudice. In 2001, Virginia issued a statement of “profound regret” for what it had done “in the name of eugenics.” In January 2002 the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia passed a resolution which acknowledges that the Buck v. Bell decision was an, “…embodiment of bigotry against the disabled and an example of using faulty science in support of public policy.”
In 2015 it was announced that victims of Virginia’s forced sterilization program would receive financial compensation provided they were still alive. Virginia was the second state which finally agreed to compensate the surviving victims of their sterilization program, and reportedly set aside $400,000 to do so in the 2015 budget. In doing so they followed the lead of their neighbor to the south, the State of North Carolina, which practiced enforced sterilization from 1929 through 1974.
North Carolina sterilized over 7,500 people during its years of practice, the overwhelming majority of them women. Unlike most states, where the practice began to fade in the years following World War II, in North Carolina the number of procedures performed increased as the state extended its use in part because it helped to control the population. Some girls as young as ten were sterilized after the state deemed them to be unfit to raise children. Failing to adapt well socially (such as fighting with schoolmates) was seen as a fit reason to sterilize some young women.
North Carolina announced it would compensate those who had been subjected to forced sterilization in 2012. The amount to be paid per victim was determined by the number of victims who submitted a claim, but the state estimated about 1,800 potential claimants were still alive when it established the fund from which the claims will be paid. The amount per claim was significantly higher than that offered by Virginia. North Carolina also established a policy through which an individual who makes a claim will have it paid into their estate if they die before the claim is verified and paid.
As of early 2018, Virginia and North Carolina are the only two states out of the more than two dozen which performed forced sterilizations to have provided any compensation for the victims of the eugenics movement of the early to mid-twentieth century. California, which led the nation in the number of sterilizations performed has seen several legal and societal drives to address the issue of compensation but has yet taken no action. The Buck v. Bell decision by the Supreme Court, which initiated the sterilizations in most states that performed them, has never been overturned.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Buck v. Bell”, The University of Virginia Historic Exhibits online
“Influence of Eugenical Sterilization Act”, The University of Virginia Historic Exhibits online
“Carrie Buck Revisited”, The University of Virginia Historic Exhibits online
“Harry H. Laughlin”, entry Pickler Memorial Library, Truman State University online
“Joseph DeJarnette”, entry Encyclopedia Virginia online
“Eugenics Record Office”, entry eugenicsarchive.org