ABSTRACT
The practice of involuntary sterilisation was, as we have seen at the beginning of this chapter, widespread in various parts of the USA in the early part of the 20th century. Many States authorised sterilisation of mentally handicapped persons who were believed to be burdens on society, hence they could be seen to be acting under a kind of misplaced altruism – doing something that was believed to benefit ‘the public’ and relieve the State purse. It is believed that the practice was most prevalent in California, with 20,108 sterilisations, followed by Virginia with 7,162, then North Carolina with 6,297 (see Scott (1986), p 806, citing Robitscher, J (ed), Eugenic Sterilization, 1973, p 1). Indeed, in the case of Valerie N (1985), the California Supreme Court noted that, historically, California led the nation in eugenic sterilisation (see Conservatorship of Valerie N (1985) 40 Cal 3d 143, p 152, which had prompted the State to enact a law barring sterilisation of incompetents through the Cal Prob Code s 2356(d) (1981)). However, this statute was struck down in the Valerie case itself.
