 In 1973, one particular case brought attention to the issue of forced sterilization.Twelve-year-old Minnie Lee Relf was sterilized without her consent or consent of a parent in a federally funded Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) health clinic—the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic—in Montgomery, Alabama.The official plaintiff was Katie Relf, the sister of Minnie Lee, and the defendant was Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.