Document 18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nshj9rCTPdE

• Elaine Riddick gave birth to her child, and without her consent, was sterilized after  giving birth. What emotions would surround giving life while at the same time being stripped of your reproductive rights?
• Between 1929-1974, 7,600 men, women, and children were determined to be feeble minded or promiscuous in North Carolina and sterilized against there will. What are your reactions to the reasons for why people were sterilized and the staggering numbers of those who were sterilized?
• 31 states had legal eugenics programs. Determine what motives the government would have to enact sterilization programs.
• The "Human Betterment League" was made up of some of the wealthiest people in America. Determine the motives that wealthy people would have for supporting eugenics and sterilization programs.
• What was the role that income level, gender, and race played in sterilization programs?
• Do you agree with the comment made in the interview that the sterilization of Americans borders on genocide? Explain why or why not?