North Carolina officials say help is on the way for some people sterilized under orders from state officials over several decades, but only a fraction of those who lost the chance to start a family will be compensated.
On Monday, Gov. Pat McCrory and state House Speaker Thom Tillis issued statements ahead of Friday's deadline for the first compensation checks to victims of North Carolina's past eugenics program.
North Carolina is the first state to compensate victims by setting aside $10 million.
McCrory says no amount of money could undo the wrong that was done to those who had underwent the procedure, and he hopes the payments will help close one of North Carolina's darkest chapters.
But many of those who were sterilized could get nothing. Only about 30 percent of the 731 compensation claims submitted had been approved by the end of September.
About 7,600 people were sterilized by counties and the state over 45 years. Critics say the program targeted poor and minority women and some of them were in state institutions.
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