Hundreds of North Carolina women where sterilized against their will and each is set to receive $50k compensation. A task force report last year said 1,500 to 2,000 of those victims were still alive, and the state has verified 72 victims. If the estimate is correct, the payments could total around $100 million. Survivors will have three years to apply for payments from the time a measure approving those goes into effect. The government says they are not attempting through work to place a value on anyone's life. However, they are attempting to achieve a level of financial compensation and other services that can provide meaningful assistance to survivors Research by Lisa Armstrong (2012) “Compensation also serves a collective purpose for the state and sends a clear message that in North Carolina people who pay for our mistakes and they tolerate bureaucracies that trample on basic human rights.” (Armstrong, 2012) North Carolina is one of about a half-dozen states to apologize for past eugenics programs, but it is alone in trying to put together a plan to compensate victims.
The task force recommendations also include that the state continue to support the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation and that the compensation be awarded so that it doesn't affect victims' taxes or government services and that mental health counseling be offered. Despite the potentially high price tag to compensate survivors during uncertain budget times, there's bipartisan support to