Abstract

This article explores the history of involuntary sterilization in California, connecting the approximately 20.000 operations performed on patients in state institutions between 1909 and 1979 to the federally funded procedures carried out at Los Angeles County Hospital in the early 1970s. In addition to highlighting the confluence of factors that facilitated a widespread sterilization abuse in the early 1970s, this article traces the longevity of pro-sterilization arguments predicated on the protection of the public health and resources. This historical overview raises important questions about the lingering legacy of eugenics in contemporary California and the ongoing struggle for women's reproductive rights in the Americas.