That ' s the worst thing about it . It may have sounded good in theory , but genetics were not well understood at the time . And terms like unfit and feebleminded were just some broad labels applied to anyone who could have been poor , uneducated , of mixedrace , minority , had some minor learning disability , nothing to do with any kind of genetic defect . Lots of disorders like Down syndrome are caused by chromosomal abnormalities , often linked to factors like a mother ' s age . And once the decision was made , there was no oversight or appeal . Documents show doctors didn ' t even examine patients , other then to maybe ask their name . In the court case mentioned in the link . The 17 year old girl was being sterilized by her abusive foster parents , because she got pregnant as a result of being raped .