United States); 362.8298 – Abuse of Women; 176 – Ethics of Reproduction

In 1973, in the heart of Montgomery, Alabama, two young Black sisters—Mary Alice and Minnie Relf—were subjected to an irreversible medical procedure they never consented to. At just 14 and 12 years old, the girls were forcibly sterilized by a federally funded clinic. Their mother, who could neither read nor write, had unknowingly signed a…