North Carolina is in an interesting quandary. What kind of compensation do you give a woman for declaring her unfit to be a mother and then forcing sterilization upon her? June, 2011 just may be the time when the long-awaited acknowledgment for such an act is materialized.

Eugenics, a word that literally means “well-born,” is a term used for the so-called science of streamlining humans to make sure nothing but healthy and whole babies are born. The unwanted or unfit were considered those who “due to genetics” are subjected to prostitution, alcoholism, ignorance, birth defects, poverty or crime.