
Survivors of decades of 'eugenics' practice in California will be compensated for up to $25,000.
According to the news agency Associated Press, this practice, which was prevalent between 1909-1979, was done to people with mental illness or physical disabilities who were deemed unfit to bear children. As young as 13-year-olds have been victims of this practice, according to the AP report.
To improve the human race, advocates of eugenics believed that people with these "undesirable traits" ought not to have children.
It is estimated that around 20,000 people were sterilised under this law before it was repealed in 1979. Because the practice is so ancient, only a few hundred people are likely to still be alive today.
Amounts for the reparations program amount to $7.5 million out of the $262.6 billion operating budget, which is awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom's approval.
In addition to Virginia and North Carolina, California is the third US state to offer compensation to victims of "eugenics". Additionally, the government of the state will make compensation payments to women who were sterilized in prison, some of which according to the news agency report are as recent as 2010.