Angela+Hall

Forced sterilization-U.S.

__California__


 * 20,000 Californians were forcibly sterilized from 1909 to 1963

"If you were deemed worthy of being sterilized by a doctor, there was no board where you could have a hearing to protest," says Christina Cogdell, a cultural historian at the University of California-Davis and author of "Eugenic Design" (Cohen, Bonifield).

__First Attempt at Forced Sterilization__
 * 1849
 * By George Lincecum, a Texas biologist and physician
 * bill mandated sterilization of mentally handicapped and others who had genes deemed undesirable

__1897__

Michigan becomes the first state to pass a forced sterilization law, but it is vetoed by the governor.

__1907__

Pennsylvania becomes the first state to successfully pass a forced sterilization law for the "feebleminded."