An American man who was forcibly sterilised in 1944 is suing the local authority that carried out the operation, reports the Sunday Times. Fred Aslin, 73, has brought an action against the state of Michigan, which placed him in a mental institution as a child and sterilised him at the age of 18. It is thought that some 60,000 Americans were sterilised in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the height of the eugenics movement.
Two years ago Mr Aslin used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain his records from the time, which labelled him as a 'moron'. If he wins, the case is expected to spark thousands of similar lawsuits, as other victims of the 'race betterment' policy find out exactly what happened to them.
Mr Aslin has already been sent a personal apology from James Haverman, Michigan's director of community health. In a letter shown to The Washington Post, he said '..the treatment you and others received was offensive, inappropriate and wrong'.
Sources and References
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Snap, crackle, population control
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Eugenics victim sues over ordeal of 60 years ago
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