Sterilization

“No witness [before N.C. Eugenics Boards] wasted many words on the question of whether the sterilization candidates in fact had a hereditary condition. Rather than focus on eugenic theory, all based their arguments against the procedure in terms of broader economic and social concerns.” Eugenic Boards and families alike “shared the same language and understanding of the nature of eugenic sterilization cases. All knew that money and sex, rather than eugenics, lay at the heart of the matter” (Schoen, 97-98). ).