Published 11:09am Friday, June 8, 2012

RALEIGH A bill to compensate victims of the states former Eugenics Board program was passed Tuesday (June 5) by House members and now advances to the Senate.

The House version of the proposed legislation includes Gov. Bev Perdues call to pay $50,000 lump sum compensation to living victims, as well as fund continuation of the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation, which provides services to victims.

Both local House representatives from the Roanoke-Chowan area Annie Mobley of District 5 and Michael Wray of District 27 voted in favor of the bill.

I thank the House for passing this measure with bipartisan support, Gov. Perdue said. It is time for the State of North Carolina to show leadership and take responsibility for what was done to our own people. I urge the Senate to take this bill up soon.

Gov. Perdue established the Sterilization Victims Foundation in March 2010, as well as the Eugenics Compensation Task Force, whose report formed the core of her budget recommendations.

Legislators spoke emotionally about the subject, expressing both concern for victims and for allocating a $10 million fund for compensation during a difficult budget year. An amendment to reduce the payment from $50,000 to $20,000 was opposed by House Leader Paul Stam and failed.

It is impossible to overstate the historical significance of the action taken today in the North Carolina House of Representatives, said House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg). With the bipartisan vote of 86 House members, our state took a bold step toward providing a small amount of justice for the victims of a horrific program. North Carolina is poised to become the first state in the nation to compensate victims of a state-operated eugenics program, and that is a distinction to be proud of. Todays vote has been long overdue, and I congratulate everyone who had a role in this process. Todays vote puts North Carolina on the doorstep of history.

This is a huge step in the right direction, said Foundation Executive Director Charmaine Fuller Cooper. The horrors of history can never be changed. But, todays bipartisan vote showed that we can learn from history and ensure that past horrors are not repeated.

Currently, 132 individuals, one of which resides in Bertie County, have been verified by the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation, of which 118 (about 90 percent) are living. More verification requests are being researched with assistance from State Archivists as it is believed that as many as 2,000 sterilization victims are still alive.

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NC House approves Eugenics compensation