You would think this sort of thing had been stamped out, in the futuristic-sounding year of 2017, but apparently we're quite determined to roll back the national clock a few more decades: If you find yourself arrested on drug charges in White County, Tennessee, a judge may reduce your jail time if you agree to have a vasectomy or get a birth control implant so that you do not reproduce.
Judge Benningfield told NewsChannel 5 that he was trying to break a vicious cycle of repeat offenders who constantly come into his courtroom on drug related charges, subsequently can’t afford child support and have trouble finding jobs. [...]
“I understand it won’t be entirely successful but if you reach two or three people, maybe that’s two or three kids not being born under the influence of drugs. I see it as a win, win,” he added.
So if you come into Judge Benningfield's courtroom on drug charges that you can't afford to fight or facing jail time you cannot stomach, you may instead choose to be sterilized so that you cannot have children in the future.
If this sounds to you to be coercive—an offer to get out of an extremely bad situation if you agree to have a medical procedure done on your person—the ACLU agrees with you. The county District Attorney sounds none too happy about it either, so the policy may be reversed rather quickly, now that the national press has gotten wind of it.