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Elaine Riddick was 14 when she was sterilized by the state of North Carolina, immediately following the birth, by cesarean section, of a son, her only child. Although she scored above the state's IQ threshold of 75, the five-person Eugenics Board approved the recommendation for her sterilization, labeling Riddick "feebleminded" and "promiscuous" and noting that her schoolwork was poor and that she did not get along well with others.

For almost 30 years, she has sought compensation for this injury. She was among the first to bring a civil case against the state, a case she lost, in the 1970s, and she has been one of the most outspoken sterilization victims, appearing on NBC's Rock Center and on Al Jazeera. And yet she acknowledges that no amount of money can ever repair the damage the state did to her. "You cannot put a price tag on motherhood," Riddick said.

What would she have given to have more children? "I would have given up my life. My whole life."

If monetary compensation—$10 million to be divided among the fewer than 3,000...