Compulsory sterilization. In 1907, Indiana passed the first eugenics-based compulsory sterilization law in the world. Thirty U.S. states would soon follow their lead.

When did forced sterilization begin?

Indiana passed the world's first sterilization law in 1907. Thirty-one states followed suit. State-sanctioned sterilizations reached their peak in the 1930s and 1940s but continued and, in some states, rose during the 1950s and 1960s.

When was forced sterilization made illegal?

From 2006 to 2010, “nearly 150 women were sterilized in California's prisons without the state's approval.” On the heels of press and pressure and advocated for by Ms. Dillon, SB 1135 “Anti-Sterilization Bill” was put into law banning unlawful and non-consensual sterilization of California prisoners in 2014.