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See also: So Long, Fairview

OREGONIANS GET APOLOGY FOR STERILIZATIONS

"Other people had beautiful babies . . . We felt like we had been robbed in that particular category."
--Kenneth Newman, who, along with his wife, wants the state of Oregon to apologize for forcibly sterilizing them while they were teenagers at Fairview Training Center

2002
December 2: Oregon Governor Apologizes For Eugenics "Misdeeds"
November 15: Sterilization Survivors To Get Apology From Oregon Governor
August 13: Velma Would Have Liked To Have Been A Grandmother
July 31: Sterilization Records Missing As Groups And Candidates Ask For Apology
July 2: Sterilized Oregonians Want Apology, Too
2000
August 7: Couple Wants Apology For Abuse and Forced Sterilizations

RELATED RESOURCES:
So Long, Fairview -- Oregon Institution Closes Its Doors For Good
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/institutions/ore/fairview.htm
Virginia's Eugenics Legacy
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/advocacy/vaeugenics.htm

For information on the American Eugenics Movement, and the mandatory sterilization laws, visit the historical archives hosted by the DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Click on the essay entitled "Sterilization Laws":
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/
Eugenics Watch
http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/endx.htm

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Couple Wants Apology For Abuse and Forced Sterilizations
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
August 7, 2000

SALEM, OREGON--Kenneth Richard Newman is not exactly sure how old he was when his parents left him at Fairview Training Center, but he does remember what happened that day.

"My parents took me out to Fairview, and hopped in the car and left," says Newman, now 59. "I was just standing there, going, what happened? It's like a gateway to hell opened up."

Now, Newman and his wife Shirley, who also lived at Fairview, are asking for an apology for their incarceration, the abuse they endured, and the trickery that was used to sterilize them. "What they told me is this is your release papers. They said, you're gonna get out in the community...They whipped them out and said, 'Sign here.'"

"I feel like I've been robbed, I've been cheated. I didn't ask for this to happen," adds Newman.

"It was terrible, living in a place like that, an institution," explains Shirley Newman. "I never did anything wrong."

Unfortunately, it is not likely that the couple will get any kind of apology or satisfaction, writes Rene Denfeld in this respectful article from the Portland Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oped/index.ssf?/oped/00/07/co_11apolo30.frame

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# Sterilized Oregonians Want Apology, Too
July 2, 2002

SALEM, OREGON--The following excerpts are from an exellent article I found in the Portland Oregonian on Sunday, entitled "Facing The Shame":

"As with many June brides, Iva Gray had an elegant white gown, a two-tier wedding cake and a lantern-jawed groom waiting for her at the church 34 years ago this weekend. Her groom waited longer than most. Iva had to be sterilized before she was allowed to leave Fairview Hospital and Training Center."

"The first memorial to Americans forcibly sterilized during the last century was erected last month by the state of Virginia. Now a growing number of Oregonians want a sign, too -- an apology from state leaders that Oregon also erred in sterilizing at least 2,648 people."

"Nineteen years after the Legislature abolished Oregon's eugenics law, the power and practice of eugenics continues to fascinate historians, shock advocates and grieve those who were ordered sterilized because it was thought they would pass their disabilities, illnesses or criminal behavior on to their children."

"Since Virginia's governor apologized for that state's eugenics laws this spring, Steve Weiss, board president of both the Oregon Advocacy Center and the Mental Health Association of Oregon, has marshaled nine advocacy groups. They plan to ask Gov. John Kitzhaber to become the second governor to atone for the state-ordered procedures."

This link should redirect you to the Oregonian story:
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/02/0702a.htm

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Sterilization Records Missing As Groups And Candidates Ask For Apology
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 31, 2002

SALEM, OREGON -- State documents ordering the forced sterilizations of 2,650 Oregonians -- most of whom had developmental disabilities or mental illnesses -- during the last century are missing.

The development comes as 17 groups are pressuring Governor John Kitzhaber to apologize for the state's eugenics law which was designed to keep people considered "defectives" from having children. The law was part of the American eugenics movement, which was based on the belief that society could be improved by reducing the number of "undesirable" people, primarily people with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, or who had criminal pasts or were homosexual.

A sad irony is that the records may have been shredded by Portland Habilitation Center, one of the state's largest employers of people with disabilities and mental illness.

"We destroyed them," said John Murphy, president of the nonprofit Portland Habilitation Center, which had held the state contract to shred documents. But Murphy and state officials are not sure who ordered the records destroyed in the first place.

Now officials with the Oregon State Archives and state library want to know who ordered the files destroyed, too. Few, if any, of the official documents were photocopied or placed on microfiche. And destroying state documents without proper authorization is against the law.

If the documents have been shredded, it could mean that the only records left are in the memories of the people who were victimized and by those in charge of the institutions where the sterilizations took place.

In related news, candidates for governor are joining the organizations in pressuring Kitzhaber to make an official apology for the state's eugenics practices that took place from 1917 to 1983.

A Kitzhaber advisor said that while the governor is "very interested" in the issue, he might not make an official statement for several weeks.

When he was a state senator in 1983, Kitzhaber was on the committee that wrote language to abolish the sterilization law. Kitzhaber was the one who made the original motion to have the law abolished.

Thirty states and two Canadian provinces had sterilization laws on the books during much of the 20th century. This past May, Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner became the first governor to officially apologize for the part his state played in the eugenics nightmare.

The Portland Oregonian ran these two related stories:
"Eugenics Records Shredded"
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/02/0731a.htm
"Governor Candidates Ask Apology On Eugenics"
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/02/0731b.htm

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Velma Would Have Liked To Have Been A Grandmother
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
August 13, 2002

PORTLAND, OREGON--The parents of Velma Jean Hayes placed her in the Oregon Fairview Home in 1937. The girl, labeled "very much retarded" by the state of Oregon, was just two years old.

She moved out of the institution when she was 15 -- but not before the state forced her to go through surgery so she could not have children. The laws made it mandatory for everyone leaving Fairview to be sterilized so there would be fewer people like Velma.

That's too bad, say her friends.

"Velma is always the first one to help, whether you need a ride, a loan, a friend, anything," says one friend. "We need 10 more of Velma."

Velma is one of 2,650 Oregonians who were surgically sterilized from 1917 to 1978 because they had physical or mental disabilities or mental illnesses. Such sterilization laws were popular during that period, based on eugenics -- the idea that society could be improved by cutting down on the number of children born with disabilities. Thirty states and two Canadian provinces, along with several European countries, had such laws. Many of the laws were still on the books until the 1980s.

Last month, disability rights advocates, along with candidates for governor, called for Governor John Kitzhaber to submit a formal apology for the procedures. The governor has not indicated whether or not he will apologize.

If he does apologize, Kitzhaber would be the second governor to do so. Earlier this year, Virginia's Governor Mark R. Warner became the first governor to officially apologize for the part his state played in the eugenics nightmare.

This Portland Oregonian article tells not only about the horrors of the procedure Velma went through and the injustices she endured in the institution, but also the sad events that happened after she left the facility:
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/02/0813a.htm

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Sterilization Survivors To Get Apology From Oregon Governor
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 15, 2002

SALEM, OREGON- Governor John Kitzhaber announced Friday that he will formally apologize on behalf of the state for the forced sterilizations of more than 2,750 Oregonians during the last century.

The apology is scheduled for December 2. Several survivors have been invited to attend the special ceremony. Kitzhaber is also expected to proclaim December 10 as Human Rights Day across the state.

Kitzhaber would be the second U.S. governor to issue such an apology. On May 2 of this year, Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner formally apologized for the forced sterilizations of 8,000 Virginians, most of whom were people with disabilities housed in the state's institutions.

A coalition of Oregon advocacy groups, including those representing people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, have been pushing for the apology since July of this year.

Most of those who underwent operations so that they could not have children did so because they had no choice under the state's sterilizations laws that were in effect from 1917 to 1983. Many had to go through the surgery before they could be allowed to leave institutions, state hospitals, or, in some cases, prison.

Thirty states and two Canadian provinces had similar laws on the books during much of the 20th century. The practice was popular under the Eugenics Movement, based on the idea that society could be improved by special breeding. The "science" behind eugenics was disproved in the later half of the century, but not until more than 60,000 North Americans had experienced castrations, vasectomies, hysterectomies or tubal ligations. In addition, Adolph Hitler used the American sterilization laws as blueprints for his Nazi plan under which hundreds of thousands of Europeans were forcibly -- and legally -- sterilized.

As a state senator in 1983, Kitzhaber was on the committee that wrote language to throw out Oregon's 1917 sterilization law.

"It knocked me backward," said Kenneth Newman, who was sterilized at Fairview Training Center when he was 15 years of age, of Kitzhaber's announcement. "I just didn't know if he was going to do it."

Friday's Oregonian ran this story:
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/02/1115b.htm

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Oregon Governor Apologizes For Eugenics "Misdeeds"
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 2, 2002

SALEM, OREGON--"Today, I am here to acknowledge a great wrong done to more than 2,600 Oregonians over a period of about 60 years-forced sterilization in accordance with a doctrine called eugenics," Governor John Kitzhaber told a group of reporters in a prepared statement Monday.

Kitzhaber noted that most of those sterilized between 1917 and 1983 were people with "mental disorders and disabilities" housed in state-run institutions. Many were forced, by state law, to undergo surgery to be made sterile before they could be allowed to leave such facilities. Others who were sterilized included criminals, homosexuals, and teenage girls who "misbehaved".

"The time has come to apologize for misdeeds that resulted from widespread misconceptions, ignorance and bigotry. It's the right thing to do, the just thing to do. The time has come to apologize for public policies that labeled people as 'defective' simply because they were ill, and declared them unworthy to have children of their own."

"To those who suffered, I say, The people of Oregon are sorry. Our hearts are heavy for the pain you endured."

Kitzhaber is the second governor to formally apologize for a state's part in the eugenics movement of the 20th century. In May of this year, Virginia's Governor Mark R. Warner officially apologized for the forced sterilizations of 8,300 people in his state. Thirty-one other states in the U.S., along with two Canadian provinces, were responsible for sterilizing more than 60,000 men and women, boys and girls. Germany's dictator Adolph Hitler modeled his massive Nazi sterilization law in part on that of Virginia.

Eugenics, roughly based on the idea of "natural selection", was the belief that society should be "improved" by keeping "unfit or unwanted" people from having children. The American Eugenics movement was fully discredited later in the century as a racist "non-science".

During his speech, Kitzhaber also noted that Oregon has "made remarkable progress" in how it treats its citizens with disabilities.

"In the past ten years, the state has progressed to a point at which we actually devote more resources to community care than to institutions-which illustrates how far we've come. We have replaced the traditional old rambling institutions with smaller facilities and a vast array of options for community housing and employment for those who suffer mental disorders and disabilities. In the past 25 years, we've closed the Columbia Park Hospital in The Dalles, Eastern Oregon Hospital in Pendleton, Dammasch in Wilsonville, and Fairview in Salem, meaning that the patients who lived in those institutions now live in the friendlier, more therapeutic environments of our communities."

Kitzhaber also used the opportunity to proclaim December 10 as the state's Human Rights Day, in memory of those who had been forcibly sterilized.

"On this day, we will renew our determination to protect the rights of all people, regardless of their color, their religious or philosophical beliefs, their sexual preference, their economic status, their illnesses or disabilities. We value them all, for they are our brothers and sisters."

The Salem Statesman-Journal ran this related story Sunday:
"Eugenics Yields Dark Past"
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article_print.cfm?i=52715

Eugene's Register-Guard ran this story also on Sunday:
"Denied A Choice: When Ruth Morris Wanted To Leave Fairview, The State's Ransom Was Her Fertility"
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/red/02/1203a.htm

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