Ending Eugenics in Oregon

DRO ((then Oregon Developmental Disabilities Advocacy Center) ) helped write by the law abolishing the Board of Social Protection. The law also created a new court procedure to protect against unnecessary sterilizations.Since this law was enacted no child under fifteen years of age may be sterilized.  Any person who is fifteen years of age or older can decide for themselves whether to be sterilized.  If a person is not capable of giving informed consent for such a procedure, sterilization can proceed only in limited circumstances as determined by court order. Most of the people involuntarily sterilized in Oregon during the 60 years the practice was permitted were patients in state-run institutions, including individuals with mental and developmental disabilities, people convicted of committing crimes, and sexual minorities.  Some were children. These actions were taken in accordance with a doctrine known as eugenics that called for the forced sterilization of those considered "unfit" in an effort to breed "better" humans.

In 2002, then Governor John Kitzhaber apologized on behalf of the state of Oregon to the over 2,600 Oregonians who underwent forced sterilizations during the sixty years the practice was permitted. 

The initiative to obtain the apology was the work of the Sterilization Apology Coalition,  whose members included:

• Basic Rights Oregon
• Clackamas Disability Services Advisory Council
  
• Disability Rights Oregon (known then as Oregon Advocacy Center)
  
• Human Services Coalition of Oregon
  
• Independent Living Resources
  
• Mental Health America of Oregon (then known as Mental Health Association of Oregon)
  
• MindFreedom International (then known as Support Coalition Northwest)
  
• Multnomah Disability Services Advisory Council
  
• NAMI Oregon (known then as National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - Oregon)
  
• National Association of Social Workers - Oregon Chapter
  
• Not Dead Yet
  
• Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities
  
• Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition
  
• Oregon Disabilities Commission
  
• Oregon Health Action Campaign
  
• People First of Oregon (no longer active as of 2005)
  

Special recognition for this effort goes to Steve Weiss, Bill Lynch and Michael Bailey, all members of our board, who worked to achieve this day of justice.