Victims of North Carolina's discontinued eugenics program could get the compensation they've sought if Gov. Pat McCrory's budget proposal is accepted. He's allocated $10 million in his spending plan to compensate past victims of forced sterilization. The program ran from 1929 to 1974. State researchers said during hearings in 2011 that there could be anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 victims still alive.
John Railey is a Winston-Salem Journal columnist who has pushed for compensation. He says time is running out for many of these victims who themselves became advocates.
"One of the best ones was Lela Dunston who was sterilized in Wilmington when she was I believe 13 or 14," Railey said. "She died in July waiting for help. You know I think she kept hoping but unfortunately she is one that died and there's probably certainly a lot more in that situation."
Railey says he's glad to see the governor stand behind a pledge he made on the campaign trail to repay eugenics victims.
