Lynchburg, VA- It's a victory several years in the making. We're hearing from a victim of state-approved sterilization after he found out Thursday, he will be compensated by the Commonwealth for all he's been through. Katie Brooke sat down with 88-year-old Lewis Reynolds Saturday to hear his reaction.

It's been years of work -- but the bill that appropriates 400 thousand dollars for sterilization victims finally passed both the house and the Senate. Once the governor signs and the budget completes-- each victim will get a 25 thousand dollar check. But they say it's really a symbolic thanks-- that money does nothing to erase the lifetime each victim has lived with not even a chance to have children or a family of their own.

"For years, they were told they were trash, that they worthless, so worthless that the commonwealth didn't want even want them to have children, or for children to be like them," said Mark Bold the CEO of Christian Law Institute.

Lewis Reynolds was sterilized at 13 for having a seizure.

"I can't have a family now, and I always wanted a family, but I can't have one," said Reynolds.

Reynolds is one of seven thousand two hundred and fifty nine Virginians taken by Police or social workers from 1924 to 1979 and sterilized against their will.

"The amount of money, 25 thousand dollars for what was taken away from them, really is small, but in the end of the day, it's symbolic," said Bold.

Mark Bold says many sterilized for something as small as not showing up to school, struggling with alcoholism, or being what social workers deemed "promiscuous". Others for being epileptic, or having mental issues.

"They're valuable, they're our neighbors they're our friends, but clearly it's not the government's role to kill off," said Bold.

Now, the Commonwealth, finally recognizing the wrong- and trying to right it as much as they can, after these victims were ripped from their homes and sent to places like Western State Hospital in Staunton and the Central Virginia Training Center in Lynchburg; many of their families, never seeing them again.

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Eugenics Victims To Be Compensated 25,000 Dollars