A recent news article stated that Gov. Bev Perdue is working toward a long overdue compensation package for an estimated 7,600 North Carolinians — women and men — many of whom were poor, undereducated, sick or disabled, who were sterilized by force or coercion under the authorization of the North Carolina Eugenics Board between 1929 and 1974. Now the North Carolina General Assembly has established panels to explore and make recommendations for compensating and counseling persons who were sterilized under the North Carolina Eugenics Board program.
This is truly an unusual pursuit, a sad situation for these folks and one that could be costly to tax payers in these trying economic times. There is perhaps a simple solution. What if instead of giving financial compensation we were to give back what was denied in the first place … a child? We all know there are many children waiting to be placed in good homes across the state. Why not give each of these sterilization victims their very own child. And to further the benefit to the state in not only rectifying this tragic occurrence and reducing the number of children needing a good home, why not take it a step further and reduce the number of unwanted pets in our shelters by not only providing these folks with a child, but with a puppy for that child, too.
I just see this as a win, win, win for everyone and can only hope that the North Carolina General Assembly will consider this logical alternative.
— Bill Meller
Asheville
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