be to "taxpayers". Many of the women did not discover that they had been sterilized until they visited a doctor. The judge deciding Madrigal held that it was a part of a doctor's practice to provide sterilizations to these women based upon their cultural backgrounds. The judge, Judge Curtis, stated in his ruling that miscommunication between the doctors and the women, rather than malice, resulted in the sterilizations. In the words of his final comment, the judge stated, "One can sympathize with them for their inability to communicate clearly, but one can hardly blame the doctors for relying on these indicia of consent which appeared to be unequivocal on their face and which are in constant use in the medical center." Further implications In 1979, the practice was abolished in California. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 women were sterilized in total. There have been talks in the California State Assembly to formally compensate the women who were involuntary sterilized. See also Madrigal v. Quilligan No más bebés Sterilization law in the United States Eugenics in the United States Sterilization of Native American women Compulsory sterilization References History of Latino civil rights Latina and Hispanic feminism Social problems in medicine Sterilization (medicine)