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Article: Without consent: compensation sought for victims of North Carolina's sterilization program.(JUSTICE)
- Article from:
- Black Enterprise
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN MARY ENGLISH, OF FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, was 22, a routine trip to the doctor left her infertile. The doctor told her "they had a procedure and if I went with this procedure, I wouldn't have to worry about birth control," recalls English. What the doctor failed to tell her, English says, is that the procedure would leave her sterile. Now, lawmakers in North Carolina are seeking compensation from the state for victims of the sterilizations.
English is one of thousands of women in North Carolina who was sterilized between 1929 and 1974 as part of the eugenics movement, which led to laws in many states that were designed to keep mental illness and social ...