$450,000 granted to 9 women for forced sterilization
This is awful. At least they got the settlement.
Nine women with mental disabilities who were sterilized at a psychiatric hospital in British Columbia will share a $450,000 settlement reached with the provincial government.The women were sterilized while they were patients at the Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in nearby Coquitlam between 1940 and 1968.
The case has been pending since 2001.
The lawsuit in B.C. alleged the sterilizations were done for the convenience of the hospital without any scientific evidence supporting the belief that children of the patients would inherit serious mental disabilities. It also alleged the sterilizations were a violation of each patient's sexual privacy and was considered an assault.The public guardian operates under provincial laws to protect the legal rights and financial and personal interests of individuals who cannot protect themselves.
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I'm glad they won the case, but $50,000 a piece is not that much for something that is permanent and life-altering.