By:News 14 Carolina Web Staff

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RALEIGH -- The second of three committees advanced the historic Eugenics Compensation Bill. The proposal would give a $50,000 payout to living victims of this forced sterilization program.

There have been some dissenting opinions on this proposal questioning if the state should be paying out reparations and how the $50,000 figure was agreed upon.

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Second of three committees advance Eugenics Compensation Bill

A North Carolina legislative committee voted almost unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill that would compensate victims of the state’s forced sterilization program with $50,000 each, according to WFAE radio from Charlotte.

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North Carolina closer to compensating eugenics victims

By Kirsten Ballard

Staff Writer

State officials are traveling to various communities to seek people who could qualify for compensation under the state's new Justic for Sterilization Victims Foundation.

"Many victims said this day would never come," said Charmaine Fuller Cooper, executive director for the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation. Cooper was in Moore County last week to talk about the program.

In 2010, Gov. Bev Perdue established the "N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation," with the ultimate goal of compensation and healing for the victims of the N.C. Eugenics Program. The foundation is a clearinghouse for information and assistance for victims.

Between 1933 and 1974, an estimated 7,600 poor, uneducated, institutionalized, sick or disabled persons were sterilized by choice, force or coercion during the eugenics program in all 100 counties. There was a wide range of victims; 85 percent were women, and 60 percent white. Poverty was the only common theme.

Legislation was filed in the General Assembly earlier this month to compensate the sterilization victims and their families. If passed, the bill will give a lump sum, tax-free payment of $50,000 to victims verified before Dec. 31, 2015. It will also provide continued funding for the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation. The bill will not cover mental health services.

"Compensation is so we remember and do not repeat this history," said Fuller Cooper. "It will serve as a deterrent. It does not right the wrong, but it admits the state was wrong.

"Once the petition for sterilization was received, it was basically a done deal," said Fuller Cooper on what she describes as the "most aggressive" eugenics program in the nation. Nationally, 33 states had Eugenic Boards, but North Carolina's ran the longest.

So far, 132 verifications statewide have been made, including 118 living victims. The foundation estimates between 1,500 to 2,000 victims are still living and unverified.

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State Seeking Eugenics Victims

Leaders in the N.C. General Assembly say that it is too early to evaluate the prospects of proposed legislation that would give reparations to people who were sterilized under a state-sponsored eugenics program.

Victims of the states sterilization program will attend a public hearing Tuesday afternoon at the Legislative building in Raleigh.

The hearing is to help lawmakers better understand what the victims went through when they were forced to be sterilized by the former North Carolina Eugenics Board.

So far, 132 victims have been confirmed or verified by the state, including 118 living victims.

A Eugenics Task Force, created by Gov. Bev. Perdue, filed a final report in January issuing $10 million for victims. That money would be handed out in a lump sum worth $50,000 to eligible recipients. They have until Dec. 31, 2015 to file a claim.

The Sterilization Victims Foundation continues to assist individuals who believe that they or someone they know may have been affected by the N.C. Eugenics Boards program. For information, call toll-free hotline 877-550-6013.

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Eugenics compensation public hearing set for Tuesday

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RALEIGH -- Last week, on the opening day of the 2012 legislative session, lawmakers put one issue on fast track: a proposal to allow the state pay compensation to victim's of its former eugenics program.

Up in the galley on that opening day, were four students from Carnage Middle School in Raleigh.

These students have a special interest in this legislation.

The 8th graders recently won a the state title in a National History Day contest for their documentary on eugenics. They will now represent North Carolina in the national competition next month.

I thought how could the government have so much power? said Raaj Pyada, one of the 8th graders. That they would just pick one person and then sterilize them.

Throughout the process of making "Eugenics: North Carolina's Emerging Secrets," these students said they learned a lot about this practice, which continued through the 1970s.

What shocked me the most wasn't the sterilization in America, said student Viraj Rapolu, was that Hitler, when he incorporated it, he sterilized over 400,000 people and somebody said 'The Germans are beating us at our own game'.

These students are now watching government in action, as legislators work to right this wrong.

They really want the Democrats and Republicans to combine, which they are doing, said student Nimit Desai, and they really want to educate people about it.

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Raleigh students' documentary highlights NC eugenics story

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RALEIGH A House committee overwhelming approved a bill to provide compensation for victims of North Carolina's forced sterilization program.

Rep. Larry Womble of Forsyth County asked the committee to put North Carolina on the right side of history and approve the bill, which provides $50,000 to victims.

He made his first appearance at the legislature since a wreck in December.

News 14 Carolina's senior political reporter Loretta Boniti has the latest.

Originally posted here:

Eugenics compensation bill passes House committee

Updated05/22/2012 08:11 AM

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RALEIGH North Carolina lawmakers are set to tackle a proposal that would compensate victims of the state's former eugenics program. They're holding a public hearing Tuesday at the legislative building in downtown Raleigh.

The state House set aside its rules and allowed a eugenics compensation bill to be read. Now, it's up for debate and votes.

If approved, the bill would pay $50,000 to people who were sterilized against their will. Many lawmakers have already shown their support for the proposal.

I am very excited and this is an issue that I thought was appropriate for Democrats and Republicans to come together on, said Rep. Earline Parmon, a Forsyth County Democrat.

According to the North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation, 132 victims have been identified, 118 of whom are still alive. The foundation expects more victims to come forward if the legislature approves the compensation bill.

The public hearing begins at 2 p.m.

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Lawmakers to debate compensation for victims of eugenics program

Wednesday, May 23 2012 by Gurnal Scott

Eric Hodge: The House Judiciary Committee has passed a eugenics compensation bill that would pay money to victims and the families. Gurnal Scott reports

Rep. Larry Womble: I'm beginning to see some light at the end of this long journey.

Gurnal Scott: Forsyth County Representative Larry Womble -- slowed by injuries from a car accident last year -- came back to see the bill he sponsored through. It sets aside 10 million dollars to pay victims of forced sterilization 50 thousand dollars each. Representative George Cleveland of Onslow County was one of two committee members who spoke against the bill.

Rep. George Cleveland: I personally have a problem with compensation. People today paying for something that happened in the past I do not believe is correct.

Eugenics victim Elaine Riddick was upset by that.

Elaine Riddick: I mean that just brought the eugenics right back. The eugenics is alive in full force in North Carolina.

The House Finance Committee will consider the bill next.

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House Committee Passes Eugenics Compensation Bill — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC

RALEIGH The tears of eugenics victims and their weakened champion's return to Raleigh in a wheelchair made the House committee vote endorsing compensation for people sterilized under the auspices of a government board more emotional than a run-of-the-mill debate on a bill.

The meeting room was nearly quiet Tuesday afternoon as Rep. Larry Womble, a Winston-Salem Democrat, urged the House Judiciary committee to endorse $50,000 payments for eugenics victims as a moral right. The committee approved the bill to applause from the audience, and it now moves to the House budget committee.

From 1933 to 1974, a board created by the legislature ordered that "mentally diseased, feeble-minded or epileptic" people be sterilized. The board also ordered sterilized people who were poor or who were thought likely to have disabled children. Other states had eugenics programs, but North Carolina's was one of the most robust. The board authorized the sterilization of about 7,600 people. About 1,500 to 2,000 are thought to still be alive.

Womble has been fighting for compensation for victims for 11 years. He had to make a special effort to make it to Raleigh on Tuesday. He was gravely injured in a car accident last year that killed another driver. Womble has lost weight, his voice is weaker, and his legs are elevated in the wheelchair he uses.

"This is not a perfect bill," Womble started, almost in a whisper, "but it is a bill that separates North Carolina from the rest of the world."

Under the bill, people verified by a state Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims and determined eligible by the Industrial Commission would each receive $50,000.

The N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation has identified 132 people as being sterilized under the board's auspices, and 118 are still living, said foundation executive director Charmaine Fuller Cooper.

The bill sets a Dec. 31, 2015, deadline for filing a claim. People alive as of March 1, 2010, would be eligible.

Womble urged unanimous support from the committee.

"You will be on the side of right," Womble said.

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Eugenics victims move closer to getting compensatio

srocco@newsobserver.com

With Rep. Earline Parmon by his side, Rep. Larry Womble wipes away tears as he tells his fellow legislators to do what's right and approve funding for the Eugenics Compensation Program during a House committee meeting on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. The committee did approve the bill to provide compensation for victims of North Carolina's forced sterilization program. Womble has worked more than a decade on this bill. This is his first time back in the Legislature since being injured in an automobile wreck in December 2011.

The tears of eugenics victims and their weakened champions return to Raleigh in a wheelchair made the House committee vote endorsing compensation for people sterilized under the auspices of a government board more emotional than a run-of-the-mill debate on a bill.

The meeting room was nearly quiet Tuesday afternoon as Rep. Larry Womble, a Winston-Salem Democrat, urged the House Judiciary committee to endorse $50,000 payments for eugenics victims as a moral right. The committee approved the bill to applause from the audience, and it now moves to the House budget committee.

From 1933 to 1974, a board created by the legislature ordered that mentally diseased, feeble-minded or epileptic people be sterilized. The board also ordered sterilized people who were poor or who were thought likely to have disabled children. Other states had eugenics programs, but North Carolinas was one of the most robust. The board authorized the sterilization of about 7,600 people. About 1,500 to 2,000 are thought to still be alive.

Womble has been fighting for compensation for victims for 11 years. He had to make a special effort to make it to Raleigh on Tuesday. He was gravely injured in a car accident last year that killed another driver. Womble has lost weight, his voice is weaker, and his legs are elevated in the wheelchair he uses.

This is not a perfect bill, Womble started, almost in a whisper, but it is a bill that separates North Carolina from the rest of the world.

Under the bill, people verified by a state Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims and determined eligible by the Industrial Commission would each receive $50,000.

The N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation has identified 132 people as being sterilized under the boards auspices, and 118 are still living, said foundation executive director Charmaine Fuller Cooper.

The bill sets a Dec. 31, 2015, deadline for filing a claim. People alive as of March 1, 2010, would be eligible.

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Eugenics victims move closer to getting compensation

Published 11:05am Friday, May 18, 2012

RALEIGH Its been referred to as North Carolinas version of the Holocaust.

Now, state officials are attempting to verify those individuals still alive today following their involuntary sterilization decades ago.

On Wednesday, legislation was introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives to officially compensate victims of the former N.C. Eugenics Board program. The bill (HB947: Eugenics Compensation Program) reflects the recommendations of the Governors Eugenics Compensation Task Force, which filed its final report in January. It will establish a $10 million fund from which to issue a lump-sum, tax-free payment of $50,000 to eligible recipients and sets a deadline of Dec. 31, 2015, to file a claim.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers backed the proposed legislation, to include Rep. Larry Womble, House Speaker Thom Tillis and Reps. Earline Parmon and Skip Stam. A Senate companion bill is expected to be filed shortly.

I am encouraged that legislators are working together in the best interests of citizens who were affected by this repugnant program, said Gov. Bev Perdue. We owe it to those who were harmed so many years ago that we take action now, during this session, and provide compensation and services to eligible recipients.

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.

According to the North Carolina Department of Administration website, from 1929 until 1974 an estimated 7,600 North Carolinians, women and men, many of whom were poor, undereducated, institutionalized, sick or disabled, were sterilized by choice, force or coercion under the authorization of the North Carolina Eugenics Board program. That program made the determination that thousands of North Carolinians were not fit to reproduce and ordered they undergo the sterilization process. A 1937 state law was approved, which authorized the temporary admission of those unfit individuals into state hospitals for the purpose of sterilization.

Each county in the state had sterilization victims, according to a map that was part of the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundations website. During the Eugenics Board programs peak years of June 1946 until June 1968, a total of 5,368 sterilizations were performed. Several hundred more victims were sterilized between 1968 and 1974 when the program ceased operations.

According to the map, of the Roanoke-Chowan area counties where local citizens were subject to undergo involuntary sterilization, Hertford County topped that list with 106 procedures during the peak years of 1946 to 1968. Forty-four Bertie County residents suffered that fate; as did 41 in Gates and 37 in Northampton.

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Legislation filed to compensate Eugenics victims

The public can weigh in on a proposal to compensate victims of the states decades-old forced sterilization program at an event next week in Raleigh.

State lawmakers have scheduled a public hearing for 2 p.m. Tuesday in room 544 of the Legislative Office Building, 330 N. Salisbury St. in downtown Raleigh. Expected speakers include past victims of the eugenics program, state officials said Friday in a news release. Others also are invited to speak. Advance sign-up isnt required.

The hearing will come nearly a week after a bill was introduced to provide $50,000 in compensation for each victim of the state eugenics program, and provide additional money for the Sterilization Victims Foundation. Eligible recipients would have until Dec. 31, 2015, to file a claim under the proposal.

The $50,000 amount was recommended by the N.C. Eugenics Compensation Task Force this year and also is included in Gov. Bev Perdues budget proposal.

The N.C. Eugenics Board authorized sterilizing nearly 7,600 people between 1929 and 1974. Some were described as mentally ill or dangerous; most were classified as feebleminded with an IQ of less than 70.

Records show 485 sterilizations performed in Mecklenburg between 1946 and 1968, the most of any county.

The Eugenics Compensation Task Force has reported that 1,500 to 2,000 victims may still be alive. So far, the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation has verified 132 victims, of whom 118 are living.

House Bill 947 was sponsored by lawmakers from both parties, including House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican from Cornelius, and Larry Womble, the Winston-Salem Democrat who has long fought for the compensation. An accompanying bill also has been filed in the state senate.

Tillis said this week that he would consider it a personal failure if eugenics compensation legislation didnt pass this year. He said he has wanted to do something for the victims of forced sterilization ever since he was first briefed on the issue four years ago. The Associated Press contributed.

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Hearing set for payments to eugenics victims

Elnora Mills, one of 118 verified, living victims of the state's former Eugenics Board program, holds Scooter, one of her two dogs, outside of her home in Leland.

Elnora Mills' two Chihuahuas Baby and Scooter are like the children she never had, and never could.

Now 61 and living in a rural part of Brunswick County, she wanted a son and a daughter and grandkids, but an operation in 1967 ended that possibility.

Mills said she is one of the victims of the state's former N.C. Eugenics Board program, which sterilized state residents many against their will from all 100 counties between 1929 and 1974. In all, nearly 7,600 people were stripped of their ability to have children.

"I could never have no grandkids around me or nothing," Mills said in a recent phone interview. "And it's a hurtin' feeling."

The eugenics issue is again in the spotlight as the N.C. General Assembly convened its short lawmaking session this week. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seem poised to pass legislation this year to compensate the victims, nearly 40 years after the program ended.

To date, 132 victims in 51 counties have been matched to Eugenics Board records. Of those, 118 are still alive, according to the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation. There are two verified victims from New Hanover County and one each from Brunswick and Pender.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's proposed budget for 2012-2013 includes $10.3 million to make $50,000, tax-free payments to each of the victims, including Mills. Lela Dunston, a former Wilmington resident who now lives in Raleigh, is also a verified victim.

"We cannot change the terrible things that happened to so many of our most vulnerable citizens, but we can take responsibility for our state's mistakes and show that we do not tolerate violations of basic human rights," the Democrat Perdue said in a recent prepared statement.

Meanwhile, among the first bills filed in the House and Senate this week were bills to compensate eugenics victims. The N.C. Industrial Commission would determine whether a claimant is eligible for a payment. A public hearing has been scheduled on the House bill at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Raleigh.

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Eugenics compensation high on NCGA agenda

Were glad to see that N.C. lawmakers, back for their short session, got to work immediately on righting a wrong done to thousands of North Carolinians with the states eugenics program the longest-running such program in the nation. A bipartisan group in the N.C. House filed a bill Wednesday to compensate victims. Primary sponsors included Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth, Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Forsyth, and House Majority Leader, Rep. Skip Stam, R-Wake. Rep. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg, was a co-sponsor.

This action is long past due. It was shameful that the state conducted such a program. There were more than 7,600 victims of the program that ran from 1929 to 1974, including adults and children. Many were lied to about the operations; others were given explanations they were unable to understand. Currently, 132 individuals have been verified by the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation, of which 118 (about 90 percent) are living.

The bill reflects the recommendations of the Governors Eugenics Compensation Task Force, which filed its final report in January. It establishes a $10 million fund and a lump-sum, tax-free payment of $50,000 for all eligible recipients. Claims would have to be filed by Dec. 31, 2015.

Additionally, the bill provides continued funding for the Sterilization Victims Foundation, which serves as a clearinghouse for verification requests and will be empowered to advocate on behalf of verified victims. If the bill is signed into law, the state would become the first in the country to give money to living victims of sterilization.

We commend Rep. Womble, who was an early and persistent supporter of compensation legislation. There are some folks who doubted that this day would finally come, he said. Its taken too long, but we now stand ready to open the door and financially acknowledge the suffering the state brought to so many.

Hes right. Wednesdays bill is a first step. By the end of this session this bill should be law, and sterilization victims will be on the way to getting their justified compensation.

Fannie Flono

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Yes, yes, to compensating N.C. sterilization victims

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Victims of North Carolina's decades-long forced sterilization program would receive $50,000 each under a bill filed Wednesday that would make the state the first to compensate people who lost their child-bearing abilities under the once-common practice.

"I am very elated at this milestone because it is a milestone," said Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth, who has led the fight for compensation for more than 10 years. "All the eyes of the world are on North Carolina as to what we're going to do, finally. I feel very confident; I feel very hopeful; and I feel very positive that the legislators are going to do the right thing."

Womble wasn't at the Legislature Wednesday when the bill was filed because he's at home in Winston-Salem, where he's recovering from injuries suffered in a car wreck in December that killed another man. He said in a telephone interview that he's especially pleased that the bill's sponsors include Democrats, Republicans, blacks, white, men and women.

The bill's House sponsors include Speaker Thom Tillis, which is unusual because the leader of the chamber doesn't typically sponsor bills. The Republican said he would consider it a personal failure if eugenics compensation legislation didn't pass this year. He said he's wanted to do something for the victims of forced sterilization ever since he was first briefed on the issue four years ago.

"I'm somebody who likes to stake myself out and I want folks to know I have a personal interest in seeing us move forward," Tillis said, adding the bill is "the right thing to do."

The bill has bipartisan support. In addition to Tillis and Womble, sponsors include Democratic Rep. Earline Parmon of Forsyth and Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake. Tillis said he believes there is consensus with the Republican-led Senate, where a bill hasn't been filed yet. House members filed the bill on the first day of the session.

" ... the General Assembly wishes to make restitution for injustices suffered and unreasonable hardships endured by the asexualization or sterilization of individuals at the direction of the state between 1933 and 1974 ...," the bill reads.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget proposal last week included more than $10 million to give $50,000 in tax-free compensation to each living victim. Some of the funds would support other services of the North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.

"I am encouraged that legislators are working together in the best interests of citizens who were affected by this repugnant program," Perdue said in a statement. "We owe it to those who were harmed so many years ago that we take action now, during this session, and provide compensation and services to eligible recipients."

A friend of one victim said some of them think the compensation should higher.

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NC bill supports compensation for eugenics victims

Mecklenburg County state representative and House Speaker Thom Tillis is sponsoring a new bill to help people who were sterilized against their will. State legislators files the measure Wednesday which recommends eugenics program victims should get $50,000 each. If the bill becomes law, North Carolina will be the first state to compensate thousands of victims of the program.

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Tillis sponsoring eugenics payout bill

srocco@newsobserver.com

Elaine Riddick, 57, right, hugs Australia Clay after the Eugenics Compensation Task Force announced their recommendation during a meeting on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 in Raleigh, that people sterilized under a discredited state program should each receive $50,000. Riddick, and Clay's mother were both victims. The legislature must still approve any payments but this is the first time the state would compensate surviving victims of its eugenics program. Around 7,600 people were sterilized by choice, force, or coercion between 1929 and 1974.

A House bill introduced Wednesday would offer $50,000 to people ordered sterilized under the authority of the state Eugenics Board.

The board authorized thousands of sterilizations from 1933 to 1974. Rep. Larry Womble, a Winston-Salem Democrat, has been working for years for victim compensation. House Speaker Thom Tillis took up the cause last year.

Under the bill, the state Industrial Commission would determine individuals' eligibilty. Eligible people would receive the $50,000 tax free.

An initial committee meeting on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday.

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House eugenics bill gives $50,000 to victims

Raleigh, NC-- State legislators have filed a bill recommending that people forcibly sterilized decades ago in North Carolina get $50,000 each.

If the legislation becomes law, North Carolina will become the first state to compensate victims of eugenics programs that ended the child-bearing abilities of people deemed undesirable.

In an unusual move, the House sponsors of the bill filed Wednesday include Speaker Thom Tillis. The Republican has said a compensation plan would show state officials are serious about trying to redeem a dark chapter in North Carolina history.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget proposal last week included more than $10 million to give $50,000 in tax-free compensation to each living victim. Some of the funds would support other services of the North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.

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Republican Supported Bill Would Pay Eugenics Victims

RALEIGH, N.C. -

The legislator who led the fight to get compensation for victims of North Carolina's sterilization program says he can't describe how he feels now that a bill has been filed in the state House to provide those benefits.

Rep. Larry Womble says he's elated that legislators filed a bill Wednesday recommending that victims receive $50,000 in compensation. Womble is a Forsyth County Democrat who has led the fight for compensation for more than 10 years.

But he's not at the Legislature to see the bill filed. Instead, he's at home in Winston-Salem, where he's recovering from injuries suffered in a car wreck in December that killed another man. Womble hopes to return this session.

Womble signed the bill electronically from home.

Womble says he's pleased the bill's sponsors include Democrats, Republicans, blacks, whites, men and women.

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Eugenics compensation bill filed in NC legislature

Source: University of Vermont; Mother Jones

Is your state among the 32 that forcefully sterilized more than 60,000 Americans? Hit the first link for the legal background of each state's euginics program. The second link leads to a story about the survivors.

http://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/north-carolina-sterilization-eugenics-photos

mowens@bristolnews.com

(276) 645-2549

twitter: Mike_BHCNews

Connect with Bristol Herald Courier Watchdog Alert on Facebook.

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Watchdog Alert: The eugenics wars