NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 138

HOUSE BILL 192

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 35, ARTICLE 7, OF THE GENERAL STATUTES RELATING TO THE STERILIZATION OF EPILEPTICS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 35-36, as it appears in Volume 2A, 1966 Replacement, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is amended by rewriting said Section so that the same shall hereafter read as follows:

"§ 35-36.  State Institutions Authorized to Sterilize Mental Defectives. The governing body or responsible head of any penal or charitable institution supported wholly or in part by the State of North Carolina, or any subdivision thereof, is hereby authorized and directed to have the necessary operation for asexualization, or sterilization, performed upon any mentally diseased or feeble-minded inmate or patient thereof, as may be considered best in the interest of the mental, moral, or physical improvement of the patient or inmate, or for the public good: Provided, however, that no operation described in this Section shall be lawful unless and until the provisions of this Article shall first be complied with."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 35-37, as it appears in Volume 2A, 1966 Replacement, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is amended by rewriting said Section so that the same shall hereafter read as follows:

"§ 35-37.  Operations on Mental Defectives Not in Institutions. It shall be the duty of the board of commissioners of any county of North Carolina, at the public cost and expense, to have one of the operations described in § 35-36, performed upon any mentally diseased or feeble-minded resident of the county, not an inmate of any public institution, upon the request and petition of the director of public welfare or other similar public official performing in whole or in part the functions of such director, or of the next of kin, or the legal guardian of such mentally defective person: Provided, however, that no operation described in this Section shall be lawful unless and until the provisions of this Article shall be first complied with."

Sec. 3.  G.S. 35-38, as it appears in Volume 2A, 1966 Replacement, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is amended by rewriting said Section so that the same shall hereafter read as follows:

"§ 35-38.  Restrictions on Such Operations. No operation under this Article shall be performed by other than a duly qualified and registered North Carolina physician or surgeon, and by him only upon a written order signed after complete compliance with the procedure outlined in this Article by the responsible executive head of the institution or board, or the director of public welfare, or other similar official performing in whole or in part the functions of such director, or the next of kin or legal guardian having custody or charge of the feeble-minded or mentally defective inmate, patient or non-institutional individual."

Sec. 4.  G.S. 35-39, as it appears in Volume 2A, 1966 Replacement, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby amended by striking out the following: "epileptic," immediately following the word "feebleminded" in line 6 and by striking out the comma immediately following the word "feeble-minded" in line 6.

Sec. 5.  G.S. 35-57, as it appears in Volume 2A, 1966 Replacement, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby amended by striking out the following: "epileptic," immediately following the word "feebleminded" in line 1 and by striking out the comma immediately following the word "feeble-minded" in line 1.

Sec. 6.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 7.  This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 4th day of April, 1967.