The Ingram sisters, Janet (left) and Sadie. (Photo courtesy of Janet and Sadie Ingram)
For a half-century, Virginia sought to rid itself of “mentally defective” residents through eugenics-based sterilization. The Virginia Sterilization Act was repealed in 1974, but it wasn’t until this year that the state finally began making amends by offering compensation payments to victims. Janet and Sadie Ingram, sisters who are now 68 and 72 years old, were among the first to receive those checks. Both sisters were sterilized when they were 16. In this video, Janet tells what happened to her one January day in 1965. Read the full story in the May issue of Richmond magazine.
