$250,000 for Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation

Staff reports

Gov. Bev Perdue signed the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget that includes $250,000 towards creating the Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation. The foundation establishes guidelines for identifying eugenics survivors and helps them find justice.

Gov. Perdue pledged her support for establishing the foundation during her campaign for governor. She included $250,000 in her initial budget proposal in March and worked to ensure it remained in the final budget that passed last week. The money will enable the state to begin planning efforts for the establishment of the foundation.

From 1929 to 1974, some 7,600 North Carolina citizens were
sterilized as part of the eugenics program, a state-sponsored effort to
identify and treat men and women deemed unfit or unworthy to have
children.

“I applaud Reps. Larry Womble and Earline Parmon for their
efforts in making sure sterilization victims find justice,” Gov. Perdue
said. “My hope is that with this seed money we can make strides towards
closing the book on a very dark chapter in North Carolina’s history.”