Program to sterilize women attracts three participants

Monday, July 24, 2000 | 12:02 p.m.

Three local women have accepted $200 apiece to cover sterilization costs from a program that targets drug or alcohol addicts for long-term or permanent birth control.

The Nevada chapter of Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity, which opened here in February, said its program has been hampered by advertising hassles.

CRACK, funded by donations, was founded in 1994 in Orange County, Calif., and offers addicts money to go on long-term birth control or be sterilized.

But one advertising firm, citing complaints from callers, recently removed a public service ad featuring a photograph of a 2-pound "drug baby" from billboards.

According to CRACK's Web site, 244 women and two men nationwide have obtained long-term or permanent birth control through its efforts as of July 18.

CRACK's opponents include the local NAACP chapter, which maintains the program's focus should be providing treatment for women who are addicted.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department estimates that 375,000 cocaine-exposed babies are born in the United States each year.