Embracing Abilities Inc.

For decades, Indiana was at the center of a movement that deeply hurt people with disabilities. Under the guise of public welfare, the state used laws and large institutions to isolate and control vulnerable citizens. Learning this history is not just about looking at the past—it is about looking at our world today. The choices we make now determine how we treat, value, and support our neighbors with disabilities.

Indiana used its large network of state hospitals and asylums to carry out its eugenic plans. Facilities like the Indiana School for Feeble-Minded Youth in Fort Wayne and the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane in Indianapolis stopped acting as places of healing. Instead, they became massive sorting centers where people with physical, learning, or mental health disabilities were stripped of their rights as citizens. A specific part of this system was the Indiana Village for Epileptics, built in New Castle in 1905 to lock away people who had seizures. This farm colony kept patients isolated from the public, and state laws even banned people with epilepsy from getting married. In these facilities, doctors held total power to confine residents and order forced surgeries. In 1907, Indiana became the first government in the world to pass a forced sterilization law. Leaders mistakenly believed that poverty, crime, and mental health conditions were passed down through families. To stop these traits, the state built a massive network of prisons and asylums, like the Muscatatuck Colony in 1920. These places were not meant for healing. Instead, they were used to lock up and isolate people with disabilities, who were labeled as “feeble-minded.” Inside these institutions, the state stripped people of their basic human rights, forcing them into hard labor and unwanted surgeries. Some healthcare providers pushed for these procedures to save taxpayer money. Although the Indiana Supreme Court stopped the law in 1921, lawmakers passed a new version in 1927. The state even used “better baby” contests at the Indiana State Fair to popularize these ideas. Over nearly 70 years, this system targeted vulnerable citizens and took away the reproductive rights of about 2,500 Hoosiers.

The closure of these cruel programs laid the groundwork for the modern disability rights movement in Indiana. Thanks to changing science, moral outrage, and brave self-advocacy by survivors, Indiana officially repealed its forced sterilization laws in 1974. This victory sparked a massive shift toward self-advocacy, inspiring local activists to demand the closure of large asylums and push for independent living initiatives. Over the following decades, grassroots groups successfully fought to replace isolation with community-based support, ensuring that individuals with disabilities gained equal access to housing, jobs, and legal protections. In 2007, marking 100 years since the first law passed, Indiana issued a formal state apology.

We are not far removed from these laws and institutions. We cannot go back. We must learn from history and the work of disability advocates. Today, we must move forward—championing inclusion, accessibility, and the vital services that enhance quality of life.