Legislators will hold a public hearing in Raleigh about a bill that would pay $50,000 to people who were sterilized against their will.
Some victims are expected to attend the hearing, which will be held Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building. So far, the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation has identified 132 victims, of whom 118 are still alive.
The compensation bill was found last week in the House and Senate. Victims would receive a tax-free, lump-sum payment of $50,000 with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2015, to file a claim.
From 1929 to 1974, more than 7,600 people in North Carolina were surgically rendered unable to reproduce under state laws and rules that targeted people deemed unfit to be parents. They included epileptics, those considered mentally defective and many who were simply poor.
