It was a horrific chapter in American history, but now some people who were sterilized against their will by the government may be getting compensation for what they endured. After going back and forth on the issue for 10 years, on Thursday the North Carolina legislature agreed to give $10 million to victims. If signed by the governor, North Carolina would become the first state to compensate sterilization victims. "It's been a long hard fight," said state Rep. Larry Womble, who championed the cause. "We're trying to correct a wrong." It's believed that the government of North Carolina sterilized more than 7,000 people between 1929 and 1974. Of those, only about 200 have come forward, according to Charmaine Fuller-Cooper, former director of the North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.
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Thirty-three states had forced sterilization programs for much of the 20th century
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California's was the largest, sterilizing 20,000 people
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Lawmakers in North Carolina OK $10 million to go to those forcibly sterilized in that state
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It's believed NC sterilized more than 7,000 people between 1929 and 1974
Under the eugenics laws in @placeholder, anyone could request that someone could be sterilized.