Necessary Lies discussion

Being an immigrant myself I was not aware of the Eugenics Program before reading this books, since reading it I have learned that North Carolina (the setting of the book and the state I currently live in) was the only one that gave Social Workers petition rights for the Program. Other states had their own but it was mostly used in prisons and mental institutions as far I have been able to learn.

I had no knowledge of the extent of the Eugenics program and the power that was given to Social Workers in particular in this area. This was a real eye opener for me. It is such a sad situation that these decisions were made for young girls who didn't even understand what was happening or what the long term ramifications of this procedure would have on their lives.

I only became aware of it several years ago when the state decided to compensate women who had been affected by the program. It is so sad that people had that kind of control over other people's lives and could make decisions that would affect them so strongly. I thought that the author did a fantastic job of telling both sides of the story and giving the reader a lot to think about as she told her story.