(MintPress) – Thousands of women who fell victim to forced sterilization by the government are losing their fight for reparations in North Carolina, where the Senate recently voted against a measure that would have awarded such women $50,000 for the loss of a portion of their body and any hope of having children. Those who opposed the measure claimed payments to women could be better utilized in other government sectors.
While eugenics programs were carried out throughout the country in the early- to mid-1900s, North Carolina’s program continued until 1974, sterilizing more than 7,600 women who, at the time, were unaware that such procedures were taking place.
Those targeted for sterilization were people with mental disabilities or criminal behavior. Many were often poor and of African descent. Operations were often carried out when women were admitted to the hospital — leaving some without the understanding of what had happened until it was brought to their attention that they could not have children.
Of the nearly 8,000 who had secret operations, 118 living identified victims in North Carolina could have qualified for the $50,000 government payout, which would have cost the state roughly $10 million. The BBC reported Democrat Governor Beverly Purdue had set aside the $10 million in the budget, in anticipation of approval.
Purdue was also responsible for assembling a taskforce to assess what proper payment of sterilization victims should receive. The eugenics task force, which included five members, voted 3-2 in favor of the $50,000. Two of the members settled at $20,000 compensation.
The measure passed the North Carolina House in May, but fell short in the Senate with many claiming that, in tough economic times, the state simply could not set aside money for compensation of government crimes that took place decades ago. The Associated Press reported that Republican lawmakers questioned if the compensation payout would open the floodgates for others seeking compensation for government actions.
A vocal activist throughout the compensation debate has been Elaine Riddick, who was sterilized after giving birth to a son, who was a victim of rape. According to an NBC report, Riddick’s medical records showed that the state’s Eugenics board had deemed her “feeble minded” and “promiscuous,” also noting that her grades were poor. She was 13-years-old at the time.
After the failure in the Senate, Riddick said she would not give up efforts, claiming she would personally file a lawsuit on behalf of herself and other victims.
“I have given North Carolina a chance to justify what they had wronged,” she told Associated Press. “I gave them up until the last moment, but now I have no other choice. These people here don’t care about these victims. I will die before I let them get away with this.”
Riddick’s story represents one of thousands of cases throughout North Carolina and the nation. Thirty-two states operated eugenics programs similar to North Carolina’s, but many halted such efforts after World War II, when it was noted that similar operations were be carried out in Nazi Germany.
California’s eugenics program is estimated to have carried out 20,000 forced sterilizations of men and women from 1909 to 1963. The state formally outlawed the practice in 1979. A payment program in California was never implemented, either.
While there were no documented cases of forced sterilization after the 1970s, the law was not officially struck from the books until 2003 after the Winston-Salem Journal exposed the story in a five-part series.