Although forced sterilization was practiced in the US at the time this film was made, it was not particularly widespread and was not a national policy, being left up to individual states. In Germany, however, under the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler it was an official policy, used often and throughout the entire country on individuals deemed "inferior"--for either physical or mental reasons--by the state, and not just on women (as in the US) but on both sexes. A possible reference to this can be noticed in the scene where two doctors are talking about the practice; in the door a symbol that looks suspiciously like a swastika can be seen.
The 1930s was the peak of sterilization in the US-- 27 states had laws allowing it.
The mentally challenged patient who is strapped to the table is not an actor in makeup but a genuine microcephalic who was a veteran of circus sideshows who appeared under the name of "Schlitze". Although he was a male, this film was one of the rare times he appeared as a male; he was normally dressed and exhibited as a female.
This movie may have been the inspiration for the creation of the Marilyn Munster character in The Munsters (1964), as she and the main character of this film are similar.