Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo Dedicates Public Plaque Acknowledging and Apologizing for Forced Sterilization

Sacramento, CA – (Saturday, June 22, 2024) – This morning, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (AD-52, Los Angeles) dedicated a commemorative plaque honoring the survivors and past victims of forced or involuntary sterilization made possible by her legislation. Signed into law in 2022, AB 137, included reparations payments, as well as the creation and public display of plaques acknowledging and apologizing for sterilizations at government institutions. The Assemblywoman joined representatives from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) at a private and solemn ribbon-cutting ceremony, held at the California Institution for Women state prison, in Chino, California.

"I am pleased and honored to have secured $7.5 million dollars to implement the Forced Sterilization Compensation Program, a fight many years in the making. $1 million of this allocation was for the establishment of plaques and markers where these acts occurred. By documenting, sharing and reflecting on the story of what happened here, we prevent both those who have passed, and those who survived, from fading into obscurity. We reaffirm their humanity and their inexpugnable worth,” stated Assemblywoman Carrillo.

"While nothing can adequately redress this harm, we are here to provide a semblance of justice. It is never too late to correct an injustice or to right and wrong. It is never too late to center those who rightfully feel as though they have not had a say in our democracy because of marginalization. Thank you to the survivors, their families, and all those who came together to make this possible. Today we affirm that the necessary is always possible. Today we bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice,” she added.

California’s eugenics-era forced sterilization program began in 1909. Although modeled after legislation in the states of Indiana and Washington, California’s eugenics-era program eclipsed all others. Nearly one-third of all sterilizations performed in the United States at that time took place in California. Nazi Germany studied and replicated what happened here. Despite the fact that California outlawed its past eugenics practices in 1979, forced and involuntary sterilizations continued.

In 1999, the state of California modified its policy, for unclear reasons, to include tubal ligation—a sterilization procedure—as part of the medical care provided to prisoners. In 2013, the Center for Investigative Reporting reported that California sterilized 144 incarcerated women between 2005 and 2013, with little to no documentation indicating that health officials had provided them with counseling or alternative treatments. Sterilizations performed at state and municipal jails for contraceptive purposes were finally prohibited by a 2014 state law.

Dubious sterilizations also took place in establishments managed by regional administrations. Over 200 women were sterilized at the Los Angeles-USC Medical Center between 1968 and 1974 – for which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors issued an apology in 2018.

Assemblywoman Carrillo’s legislative proposal, AB 137, made it possible to award compensation in cases where officials did not follow all legal procedures to get consent from those sterilized, even in cases when consent forms were signed. Further, Assemblywoman Carrillo’s bills required CDCR to establish markers or plaques that publicly acknowledge and apologize for the wrongful sterilization of thousands of vulnerable Californians. Thus far, CDCR  has placed markers at California Institution for Women state prison, in Chino, California, and the Central California Women's Facility and Valley State Prison, in Chowchilla, California.

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About Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo:

Assemblywoman Carrillo was elected to serve in the State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd Assembly District, which includes East Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and South Glendale. She serves on the Assembly Committees on Appropriations, Emergency Management, Health, Labor and Employment, and the Joint Committee on Climate Change Policies. She also serves as the Chair of the Select Committee on Latina Inequities, Vice Chair of the Legislative Progressive Caucus, Commissioner for the California Film Commission, Commissioner for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and Member of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Board.