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1st Sterilization Law: Indiana
"The first forced sterilization law in the United States. the sterilizations performed between males and females were near parity: 1,167 males (48%) and 1,257 females (52%). These sterilizations were carried out among various Indiana institutions and out of the total sterilizations occurred about 1,751 of these people were considered mentally deficient and 667 mentally ill (Paul 1965, p.351)" -
2nd Sterilization Law: Washington
The second sterilization law passed in the United States. "Washington had two different sterilization laws. The first was passed in 1909 and allowed for the sterilization of any person who was “guilty of carnal abuse of a female person under the age of ten years, or of rape” and of habitual criminals. Very few sterilization operations were performed under this law. A broader sterilization law was passed in Washington in 1921." -
3rd Sterilization Law: California
"California had by far the highest number of sterilizations in the United States (one third of all sterilizations nationwide). The numbers of men and women sterilized were about equal. Of the total sterilizations, almost 60% were considered mentally ill and more than 35% were considered mentally deficient." -
5th Sterilization Law: Nevada
"It provided for the mandatory sterilization by means of vasectomy (but not castration) for men convicted of child molestation under the age of 10 and rape. It was modeled after a 1909 Washington State law (which also included castration). The law was challenged and struck down in Federal Circuit Court in the 1918 case of Mickles v. Hendrichs. The decision cited the Nevada State Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual” punishment." -
10th Sterilization Law: Kansas
"Sterilizations legally began in 1913 and ended in 1961 (Paul, p. 627). There were a few cases of sterilization before it was legalized, however. The superintedent of the Kansas State Home for the Feebleminded at Winfield, Dr. F. Hoyt Pilcher, performed 58 castrations, and even as many as 150 sterilizations in total. This process began in 1894 and ended several years later when Pilcher was removed from his administrative position." -
15th Sterilization Law: Oregon
"The first Oregon Eugenics law was signed into law in 1917 and was utilized within the year. No sterilizations were reported in 1922 because the 1917 law was nullified by the Marion County Circuit Court and the 1923 law had not yet been passed. The rate of sterilizations was greatest during the 1920s and 1930s, yet substantial number of sterilizations did occur after the end of World War II. The Oregon eugenics program continued to sterilize patients until the 1960s." -
20th Sterilization Law: Virginia
"Although Virginia formally adopted a sterilization law in 1924, sterilization was not practiced widely until after the United State Supreme Court ruling against Carrie Buck in 1927. This ruling set a precedent on the legality of sterilization not only in Virginia but also throughout the nation. During the 1930’s, immediately after this Supreme Court ruling, sterilization in Virginia occurred at its highest rate with approximately 13 sterilizations per 100,000 state residents." -
25th Sterilization Law: Mississippi
"The eugenics project in Mississippi resulted in a total of 683 sterilizations. Of these sterilizations, 160 were performed on males, while 523 were performed on females. Through 1944 women made up seventy three percent of the total individuals sterilized in Mississippi. Individuals considered mentally ill made up approximately nine tenths of the sterilization victims; those deemed “mentally deficient” made up close to one tenth of the sterilized victims." -
30th Sterilization Law: Oklahoma
"After the passage of sterilization legislation in 1931, sterilizations sharply increased after 1935. After the Skinner case in 1942 there were only a few sterilizations. For the period of 1935 to 1942 about 65 sterilizations occurred per year. The rate of sterilization per 100,000 residents per year during this period was about 3."
