Thread by @CraigBaird

From 1928 to 1972, the Alberta Eugenics Board imposed sterilization on individuals deemed by an appointed board to be "mentally defective".
In that time, 2,832 sterilizations were conducted, the vast majority without consent.
This is the story.

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In the early-1900s, eugenics was growing in popularity. By the early-1920s, eugenics supporters began to lobby Alberta's ruling party, the United Farmers of Alberta, to implement eugenics legislation. On March 25, 1927, the UFA introduced a sexual sterilization bill.

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The bill was opposed by the Conservative and Liberal parties and did not reach second reading. It was reintroduced on Feb. 23, 1928 and passed one month later.
The Act formed the Alberta Eugenics Board, which was chaired by Dr. J.M. MacEachran.

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Between 1928 and 1972, the board had 21 board members and held 398 meetings. MacEachran was the chair until 1965. He was succeeded by Dr. R.K. Thompson who served until the board was disbanded in 1972. The board first met in January 1929.

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The board looked at the medical, family and sexual history of individuals, along with criminal records, ethnicity, religion and IQ scores. On average, only 13 minutes were spent reviewing each case. At first, consent was required for any sterilization.

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In 1937, the ruling Social Credit Party removed the need to get consent. By that year, 400 people had been sterilized. In 1942, another amendment was passed to include individuals who were diagnosed with syphilis, epilepsy, and Huntington's Chorea.

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Between 1929 and 1972, 4,785 cases were presented to the Alberta Eugenics Board. Of those, 99% were approved. Of the approved cases, 2,832 saw the sterilization of adults and children. About 89% of the cases were without the person's consent.

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In 1972, the recently elected Progressive Conservatives repealed the Sexual Sterilization Act after passing the Alberta Bill of Rights. From the 1990s to today, 850 people have filed lawsuit and received $142 million in damages.

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British Columbia had sterilization legislation and did 200 to 400 sterilizations from 1933 to 1973. While Tommy Douglas wrote a thesis on eugenics, by the time he was Premier of Saskatchewan had abandoned the concept in favour of therapy and vocational training.

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I hope you found the story of the Alberta Eugenics Board interesting.

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*sources in next post*

🧵 10/10buymeacoffee.com/craigu

*sources*

Canadian Encyclopedia: buff.ly/b6KJTXN
Human Rights History: buff.ly/lBI4DJU
CBC: Alberta apologizes for forced sterilization