Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) co-founder and attorney Morris Dees speaks on behalf of sisters Mary Alice and Minnie Lee Relf. The SPLC filed a lawsuit in June 1973 on behalf of the girls, who were sterilized without their consent by a Montgomery social welfare organization as part of Alabama's eugenics program aimed at sterilizing the mentally disabled. The lawsuit resulted in changes to federal regulations regarding involuntary sterilization and forced doctors to obtain informed consent from patients.
Morris Dees and Relf Sisters
Photo courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center
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