Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924
81-499: With significant post-war activity Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 The American Eugenics Society (AES) was a pro- eugenics organization dedicated to "furthering the discussion, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge about biological and sociocultural forces which affect the structure and composition of human populations". It endorsed the study and practice of eugenics in the United States . Its original name as
162-428: A precedent for the decision, stating "Three generations of imbeciles are enough". The sole dissenter in the court, Justice Pierce Butler , a devout Catholic, did not write a dissenting opinion . According to famed eugenicist Harry H. Laughlin, whose written testimony was presented during the trial in his absence, Buck's legal defeat signaled the end of "eugenical sterilization's 'experimental period.'" Following
243-530: A D) during her first term in Grade 1A, from September 1930 to January 1931. She improved during her second term in 1B, meriting an A in deportment, C in mathematics, and B in all other academic subjects; she was placed on the honor roll in April 1931. Promoted to 2A, she had trouble during the fall term of 1931, failing mathematics and spelling but receiving A in deportment, B in reading, and C in writing and English. She
324-849: A child is born in the United States. Out of those children, a capable, desirable child is born every seven and a half minutes, whereas an undesirable, feebleminded child is born every forty-eight seconds, and a future criminal is born every fifty seconds. To conclude, the display would argue that every fifteen seconds, a hundred dollars of taxpayers' money went towards supporting the mentally ill and undesirable. These family contests also involved judgements. These “judgements” were taken from each participants’ medical records, occupation, education level, political affiliation, marital status, and religion. IQ tests were also taken to establish each participants intelligence level. Then, each family underwent “physical examinations” and “disease testing." Following all of these tests and examinations, each participant would receive
405-413: A cursory examination by ERO field worker Dr. Arthur Estabrook . According to his report, Vivian "showed backwardness", thus the "three generations" of the majority opinion. It is worth noting that the child did very well in school for the two years that she attended (she died of complications from measles in 1932), even being listed on her school's honor roll in April 1931. The effect of Buck v. Bell
486-401: A eugenic nature would be made for reasons other than eugenics, and that tying a eugenic label on them would more often hinder than help." The name was most recently changed to Society for Biodemography and Social Biology in 2008. The name inherited the name of two disciplines (biodemography and social biology) as a result of interactions between demography and biology throughout the last half of
567-483: A few of the qualities that the AES looked at while determining the fittest family. The AES would give out prizes, trophies, and medals to the winning families. Additionally, the AES would sponsor displays and exhibits that featured statistics on the births of "undesirable" or "desirable" children at the fairs and festivals. An example of such a display from the 1920s and 1930s statistics claimed as follows: Every sixteen seconds,
648-414: A mental age of 8, had a record of prostitution and immorality , and had three children without good knowledge of their paternity. Carrie Buck, one of those children, had been adopted and attended school for five years, reaching the level of sixth grade. However, according to Priddy, Buck eventually proved to be "incorrigible" and gave birth to an illegitimate child. Her adoptive family had her committed to
729-470: A nurse from Charlottesville who had intermittent contact with Carrie over the years, recalled that in grammar school Carrie had been caught writing notes to boys. Priddy, of course, had once sterilized a girl for that transgression. For his testimony, Priddy felt the need to point out that Carrie had a "rather badly formed face." Whitehead failed to adequately defend Buck and counteract the prosecutors. Not only did he call no witnesses, but he did not challenge
810-633: A secondary intestinal infection, enteric colitis , at the age of 8. Virginia's General Assembly passed the Eugenical Sterilization Act in 1924. According to American historian Paul A. Lombardo, politicians wrote the law to benefit a malpracticing doctor avoiding lawsuits from patients who had been the victims of forced sterilization. Eugenicists used Buck to legitimize this law in the 1927 Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell through which they sought to gain legal permission for Virginia to sterilize Buck. Carrie Buck found herself in
891-529: A statute authorizing the compulsory sterilization of the intellectually disabled for the purpose of eugenics, a statute closely based on Laughlin's model. Dr. Albert Sidney Priddy , superintendent of the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded , could fairly be described as a zealot of eugenics. Prior to 1924, Priddy had performed hundreds of forced sterilizations by creatively interpreting laws which allowed surgery to benefit
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#1732772722018972-467: A zealotry that bordered on bloodlust. His first draft was apparently even more brutal and was criticized by colleagues for substituting rhetorical flourishes about eugenics for legal analysis. Some of the brethren [the other justices] are troubled about the case, especially [Justice Pierce] Butler. May I suggest that you make a little full [the explanation of] the care Virginia has taken in guarding against undue or hasty action, proven absence of danger to
1053-458: A “score” and a “family level score." The participants who scored highly received a medal that read ‘Yea, I have a goodly heritage.' The demographic of these medal winners were predominantly white, married, wealthy, educated, and non-immigrant individuals which promoted the AES agenda of ideal and perfect traits for “positive eugenics." There were numerous committees within the AES dedicated to different aspects of eugenic education. For example, there
1134-507: Is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes . [...] Three generations of imbeciles are enough. Holmes concluded his argument by citing Jacobson v. Massachusetts as
1215-458: Is hereby authorized to perform, or cause to be performed by some capable physicians or surgeon, the operation of sterilization on any such patient confined in such institution afflicted with hereditary forms of insanity that are recurrent, idiocy, imbecility, feeble-mindedness or epilepsy; provided that such superintendent shall have first complied with the requirements of this act. 2. Such superintendent shall first present to
1296-528: Is said to have inspired Nazi Germany's 400,000 sterilizations, including those sanctioned under the 1933 Law for Protection Against Genetically Defective Offspring. Carrie Buck was operated upon, receiving a compulsory salpingectomy (a form of tubal ligation ). She was later paroled from the institution as a domestic worker to a family in Bland, Virginia . She was an avid reader until her death in 1983. Her daughter Vivian had been pronounced "feeble minded" after
1377-555: Is widely believed to have been weakened by Skinner v. Oklahoma , 316 U.S. 535 (1942), which involved compulsory sterilization of male habitual criminals (and came to a contrary result). Legal scholar and Holmes biographer G. Edward White , in fact, wrote, "the Supreme Court has distinguished the case [ Buck v. Bell ] out of existence". In addition, federal statutes, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
1458-586: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 , provide protections for people with disabilities, defined as both physical and mental impairments. The modern concept of eugenics was propounded in 1883 by Francis Galton , who also coined the name. The idea first became popular in the United States and had found proponents in Europe by the start of the 20th century; 42 of the 58 research papers presented at
1539-474: The General Assembly of Virginia in 1988 and amended in 2013, provides the procedural requirements necessary for a physician to lawfully sterilize a patient capable of giving informed consent and incapable of giving informed consent. A physician may perform a sterilization procedure on a patient if the patient is capable of giving informed consent, the patient consents to the procedure in writing, and
1620-662: The Subsequent Nuremberg trials after World War II , counsel for SS functionary Otto Hofmann explicitly cited Holmes's opinion in Buck v. Bell in his defense. Sterilization rates under eugenic laws in the United States climbed from 1927 until Skinner v. Oklahoma , 316 U.S. 535 (1942). While Skinner v. Oklahoma did not specifically overturn Buck v. Bell , it created enough of a legal quandary to discourage many sterilizations. By 1963, sterilization laws were almost wholly out of use, though some remained officially on
1701-541: The Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, where Whitehead offered a 5‑page compared to the state's 40-page brief. Buck lost there too. Her only recourse was to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that was merely an illusion: even if Whitehead had put forth an effort, Carrie's case was put before a Supreme Court with at least two avowed believers in eugenics: Chief Justice (and former president) William Howard Taft and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr . In 1915, Taft had written
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#17327727220181782-502: The U.S. Supreme Court accepted that Buck, her mother and her daughter were "feeble-minded" and "promiscuous," and that it was in the state's interest to have her sterilized. The ruling found that the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 did not violate the U.S. Constitution and legitimized the sterilization procedures until they were repealed in 1974. Taft assigned the opinion to Holmes, who went at his task with
1863-536: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit cited Buck v. Bell to protect the constitutional rights of a woman coerced into sterilization without procedural due process. The court stated that error and abuse will result if the state does not follow the procedural requirements, established by Buck v. Bell , for performing an involuntary sterilization. Derek Warden has shown how
1944-560: The genetic trait of feeblemindedness. Thus, it was in the state's best interest to have Carrie Buck sterilized. The decision was seen as a major victory for eugenicists. We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It
2025-470: The "physical, mental or moral" condition of the inmates at the Colony. He would operate to relieve "chronic pelvic disorder" and, in the process, sterilize the women. According to Priddy, the women he chose were "immoral" because of their "fondness for men," their reputations for "promiscuity," and their "over-sexed" and "man-crazy" tendencies. One sixteen-year-old girl was sterilized for her habit of "talking to
2106-589: The 1930s also incurred some financial difficulties. The issue of lack of finding was never fully resolved but was not substantial enough to end the AES. As time persisted, the eugenics belief and the Society’s history became increasingly unpopular amongst individuals and the Society received lots of backlash, ultimately causing its disbandment. The Society's official journal was Biodemography and Social Biology , originally established in 1954 as Eugenics Quarterly . It
2187-542: The 1996 case of Fieger v. Thomas , the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit both recognized and criticized Buck v. Bell by writing, "as Justice Holmes pointed out in the only part of Buck v. Bell that remains unrepudiated, a claim of a violation of the Equal Protection Clause based upon selective enforcement 'is the usual last resort of constitutional arguments ' ". In 2001,
2268-408: The 20th century eugenics movement, which were well-respected and popular amongst doctors, physicians, political leaders, and educators. Sanger continued to believe in and push for women's reproductive rights and encouraged those in political power to steer away from racially-motivated ideas or tactics involving the eugenics movement. For example, Sanger "vocally opposed" racial stereotyping which lead to
2349-605: The American Eugenics Society lasted from 1922 to 1973, but the group changed their name after open use of the term "eugenics" became disfavored; it was known as the Society for the Study of Social Biology from 1973–2008, and the Society for Biodemography and Social Biology from 2008–2019. The Society was disbanded in 2019. Initially known as the American Eugenics Society, or AES, the Society formed after
2430-853: The Assembly agreed to compensate individuals sterilized under the act. During the early 20th century, Harry H. Laughlin, director of the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, New York , became concerned that states were not enforcing their eugenics laws. In 1922, he published his book, Eugenical Sterilization in the United States , which included a "MODEL EUGENICAL STERILIZATION LAW" in Chapter XV. By 1924, 15 states had enacted similar legislation; however, unlike Virginia, many or most or all of those states failed to rigidly enforce their laws requiring specific qualities in all persons seeking to marry. Forced sterilization, however,
2511-612: The Bible, and therefore ought to be promoted by Christians. During the presidency of Henry Farnham Perkins from 1931 to 1933, the AES worked with the American Birth Control League . Margaret Sanger , a birth control activist, "was a member of the AES in 1956 and established the Birth Control League in 1921". Margaret Sanger, however, identified with broader issues of "health and fitness" during
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2592-617: The Colony in June 1924, shortly before her 18th birthday. Priddy quickly made the connection between Emma and Carrie, and he knew about the recently born Vivian: the board of directors issued an order for the sterilization of Buck and her guardian appealed the case to the Circuit Court of Amherst County. In order to fully validate the law to Priddy's satisfaction, the Board's determination had to be defended in court. Thus, Irving P. Whitehead
2673-676: The Court ruled that a state statute permitting compulsory sterilization of the unfit, including the intellectually disabled , "for the protection and health of the state" did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . Despite the changing attitudes about sterilization, the Supreme Court has never expressly overturned Buck v. Bell . It
2754-785: The First International Congress of Eugenics, held in London in 1912, were from American scientists. Indiana passed the first eugenics sterilization statute in 1907, but it was legally flawed. To remedy that situation, Harry Laughlin , of the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , designed a model eugenic law that was reviewed by legal experts. In 1924, the Commonwealth of Virginia adopted
2835-490: The Society gradually changed, and by 1960, members of the Society were almost exclusively scientists and medical professionals. Consequentially, the Society focused more on genetics and less on class -based eugenics . After the Roe v. Wade decision was released in 1973, the Society was reorganized and renamed The Society for the Study of Social Biology. Osborn said, "[t]he name was changed because it became evident that changes of
2916-502: The State Colony as " feeble-minded ", feeling they were no longer capable of caring for her. It was later claimed that Buck's pregnancy was not caused by any "immorality" on her own part. In the summer of 1923, while her adoptive mother was away "on account of some illness," her adoptive mother's nephew allegedly raped Buck, and her later commitment has been described as an attempt by the family to save their reputation. Carrie Buck
2997-465: The Supreme Court ruling, over two dozen states enacted similar laws, including Oregon and the Carolinas, doubling American sterilizations from 6,000 to more than 12,000 by 1947. Buck was sterilized on October 19, 1927, roughly five months after the Supreme Court trial verdict. She became the first Virginian sterilized since the 1924 Eugenical Sterilization Act passed. The Virginia sterilization law
3078-413: The United States ). By 1933, California had enforced eugenically sterilization laws on more people than any of the other US states combined, mainly affecting people of color and foreign immigrants. These laws led to court cases and lawsuits, such as Buck v. Bell (1927) and Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942). In 1926, the society published a Eugenics Catechism , arguing that eugenics was supported by
3159-626: The Virginia Eugenical Sterilization Act and who were living as of February 1, 2015." If the person died on or after February 1, 2015, a claim may be submitted by the estate or personal representative of the person who died. Buck v. Bell Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 Buck v. Bell , 274 U.S. 200 (1927), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court , written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. , in which
3240-535: The Virginia statute upheld by the Court. The Virginia statute that Buck v. Bell upheld was designed in part by the eugenicist Harry H. Laughlin , superintendent of Charles Benedict Davenport 's Eugenics Record Office in Cold Spring Harbor, New York . Laughlin had, a few years previously, conducted studies on the enforcement of sterilization legislation throughout the country and had concluded that
3321-710: The bill did not get past the Appropriations committee in either year. In 2015, Patrick A. Hope reintroduced the Justice for Victims of Sterilization Act, and although the Act did not get past the Appropriations committee, an amendment was added to the budget bill to give compensation of up to $ 25,000 per person who was "involuntarily sterilized pursuant to the Virginia Eugenical Sterilization Act." The legislature authorized compensation of up to $ 25,000 per claim to provide compensation for individuals sterilized "pursuant to
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3402-431: The books for many years. Language referring to eugenics was removed from Virginia's sterilization law, and the current law, passed in 1988 and amended in 2013, authorizes only the voluntary sterilization of those 18 and older, after the patient has given written consent and the doctor has informed the patient of the consequences as well as alternative methods of contraception. The story of Carrie Buck's sterilization and
3483-426: The case. Throughout Carrie's trial, a succession of witnesses offered testimony that was hearsay, contentious, speculative, and simply absurd. Because Priddy and Strode felt it crucial to establish that Carrie's entire family "stock" was defective, witnesses who had never met Carrie testified to rumors and anecdotes surrounding her and her family. One of the few witnesses to testify with first-hand knowledge of Carrie,
3564-463: The court case was made into a television drama in 1994, Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story . It was also referred to in 1934's sensational film Tomorrow's Children , and was covered in the October 2018 American Experience documentary "The Eugenics Crusade". Although this opinion and eugenics remain widely condemned, the decision in the case has not been formally overturned. Buck v. Bell
3645-426: The development of eugenics in the twentieth century. The act was based on model legislation written by Harry H. Laughlin and challenged by a case that led to the United States Supreme Court decision of Buck v. Bell . The Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional and it became a model law for sterilization laws in other states. Justice Holmes wrote that a patient may be sterilized "on complying with
3726-408: The early twentieth centuries because of the idea that non-whites and immigrants were “inferior” to “native-born white Americans” in terms of intelligence, physical condition, and moral stature. The AES primarily used fitter family contests to help promote its mission. These fitter family contests took place in public festivals or fairs. Physical appearance, behavior, intelligence, and health were just
3807-812: The general assembly of Virginia, That whenever the superintendent of the Western State Hospital, or of the Eastern State Hospital, or of the Southwestern State Hospital, or of the Central State Hospital, or the State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded , shall be of opinion that it is for the best interests of the patients and of society that any inmate of the institution under his care should be sexually sterilized, such superintendent
3888-584: The grounds of feeblemindedness, incorrigible behavior, and promiscuity . Her commitment is said to have been due to the family's embarrassment at Buck's pregnancy from the rape incident. On March 28, 1924, she gave birth to a daughter. Since Buck had been declared mentally incompetent to raise her child, the Dobbses adopted the baby and named her "Vivian Alice Elaine Dobbs". She attended Venable Public Elementary School of Charlottesville for four terms, from September 1930 until May 1932. By all accounts, Vivian
3969-540: The inmate of his institution named in such petition, the operation of vasectomy if upon a male and of salpingectomy if upon a female. A copy of said petition must be served upon the inmate together with a notice in writing designating the time and place in the said institution, not less than thirty days before the presentation of such petition to said special board of directors when and where said board may hear and act upon such petition — Virginia General Assembly , March 20, 1924 An act, passed by
4050-408: The introduction to the book How to Live , which contained a sizable portion devoted to eugenics. As for Holmes, in 1921, he told future justice Felix Frankfurter that he had no problem "restricting propagation by the undesirables and putting to death infants that didn't pass the examination." Buck and her guardian contended that the due process clause guarantees all adults the right to procreate which
4131-403: The little boys." Looking to determine if the new law would survive a legal challenge, on September 10, 1924, Priddy filed a petition with his board of directors to sterilize Carrie Buck . She was an 18-year-old patient at his institution who he claimed had a mental age of 9. Priddy maintained that Buck represented a genetic threat to society. According to him, Buck's 52-year-old mother possessed
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#17327727220184212-399: The operation of vasectomy and in females by the operation of salpingectomy, both of which said operations may be performed without serious pain or substantial danger to the life of the patient, and Whereas, the Commonwealth has in custodial care and is supporting in various State institutions many defective persons who if now discharged or paroled would likely become by
4293-499: The passing of the Immigration Act of 1924 , "on the grounds that intelligence" and other characteristics vary by individual, not by group. Under the direction of Frederick Osborn the Society began to place greater focus on issues of population control, genetics, and, later, medical genetics. In 1930, the Society included mostly prominent and wealthy individuals, and membership included many non-scientists. The demographics of
4374-521: The patient's mental disability renders the patient permanently unable to care for a child, and the procedure conforms with medical standards. In February 2001, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution , introduced by Mitchell Van Yahres , expressing regret for Virginia's experience with eugenics. In the 2002 session, Van Yahres introduced a joint resolution honoring the memory of Carrie Buck. This joint resolution
4455-405: The patient, and other circumstances tending to lessen the shock that many feel over the remedy? The strength of the facts in three generations of course is the strongest argument. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes made clear that the challenge was not upon the medical procedure involved, but on the process of the substantive law. The court was satisfied that the Virginia Sterilization Act complied with
4536-402: The physician explains the consequences of the procedure and alternative methods of contraception. A court may authorize a physician to perform a sterilization on a mentally incompetent adult or child after the procedural requirements are met and the court finds with clear and convincing evidence the patient is or is likely to engage sexual activity, no other contraceptive is reasonably available,
4617-454: The propagation of their kind a menace to society but who if incapable of procreating might properly and safely be discharged or paroled and become self-supporting with benefit both to themselves and to society, and Whereas, human experience has demonstrated that heredity plays an important part in the transmission of sanity, idiocy, imbecility, epilepsy and crime, now, therefore 1. Be it enacted by
4698-426: The prosecution's witnesses' lack of firsthand knowledge or their dodgy scientific claims. Whitehead did not even call Carrie's teachers, who could have proven, with documented evidence, that Carrie had been an average student, including one teacher who wrote that Carrie was "very good" at "deportment and lessons." Instead, it seemed that Whitehead was often testifying against his own client, taking it for granted that she
4779-399: The public, the eugenics movement adopted “two faces,” a positive and negative face. The ‘positive’ side of this movement focused on emphasizing the urge for the “genetically gifted” to reproduce. The ‘negative’ face of the eugenics campaign involved efforts to prevent the “defective” individuals from reproducing. This negative side of the eugenics movement catalyzed anti-immigration movements of
4860-776: The reason for their lack of use was primarily that the physicians who would order the sterilizations were afraid of prosecution by patients upon whom they operated. Laughlin saw the need to create a "Model Law" that could withstand constitutional scrutiny, clearing the way for future sterilization operations. The Nazi jurists designing the German Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring based it largely on Laughlin's "Model Law", although development of that law preceded Laughlin's. Nazi Germany held Laughlin in such high regard that they arranged for him to receive an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University in 1936. At
4941-418: The requirements of due process , since sterilization could not occur until a proper hearing had occurred, at which the patient and a guardian could be present, and the patient had the right to appeal the decision. They also found that, since the procedure was limited to people housed in state institutions, it did not deny the patient equal protection of the law. And finally, since the Virginia Sterilization Act
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#17327727220185022-423: The sexual sterilization of inmates of State institutions in certain cases. [S B 281] Whereas, both the health of the individual patient and the welfare of society may be promoted in certain cases by the sterilization of mental defectives under careful safeguard and by competent and conscientious authority, and Whereas, such sterilization may be effected in males by
5103-403: The special board of directors of his hospital or colony a petition stating the facts of the case and the grounds of his opinion, verified by his affidavit to the best of his knowledge and belief, and praying that an order may be entered by said board requiring him to perform or have performed by some competent physician to be designated by him in his said petition or by said board in its order, upon
5184-417: The state to test the legality of the statute. The cross examination and witnesses produced by Whitehead were ineffectual and allegedly a result of his alliance with Strode during the trial. There was no real litigation between the prosecution and the defense, and thus the Supreme Court did not receive sufficient evidence to make a fair decision on the "friendly [law]suit." On May 2, 1927, in an 8–1 decision,
5265-487: The success of the Second International Congress on Eugenics ( New York , 1921). AES founders included Madison Grant , Harry H. Laughlin , Irving Fisher , Henry Fairfield Osborn , Charles Davenport and Henry Crampton . The organization started by promoting racial betterment, eugenic health, and genetic education through public lectures, exhibits at county fairs, etc. To gain popularity with
5346-446: The twentieth century. The Society was then disbanded in 2019. The disbandment of the Society was ultimately due to limits on funding, member engagement, internal tensions, and public interest, or lack thereof, in eugenics. The Society initially began to struggle finding sufficient funding. The lack of funding issue began around 1937 but continued until its official disbandment. The moving of the AES head offices from New Haven to New York in
5427-437: The very careful provisions by which the act protects the patients from possible abuse." Between 1924 and 1979, Virginia sterilized over 7,000 individuals under the act. The act was never declared unconstitutional; however, in 2001, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution apologizing for the misuse of "a respectable, 'scientific' veneer to cover activities of those who held blatantly racist views." In 2015,
5508-544: Was "retained in 2A" for the next term – or "left back" as we used to say, and scarcely a sign of imbecility as I remember all my buddies who suffered a similar fate. In any case, she again did well in her final term, with B in deportment, reading, and spelling, and C in writing, English, and mathematics during her last month in school. This daughter of "lewd and immoral" women excelled in deportment and performed adequately, although not brilliantly, in her academic subjects. In June 1932, Vivian contracted measles . She died from
5589-484: Was a committee dedicated to crime prevention. These committees pressured local municipal and legal systems to push the AES beliefs and ideas. The AES also sought to promote eugenic policies at the US state and federal level; in particular, Harry H. Laughlin promoted eugenic sterilization in the early twentieth century. By the late 1920s, eugenic sterilization laws were being enforced in multiple states ( Sterilization law in
5670-499: Was appointed to "defend" Carrie from the Board's ruling. Whitehead was not only a close friend of Priddy, a former member of the Colony Board and, unsurprisingly, a staunch believer in forced sterilization, but also a childhood friend of Aubrey E. Strode , who drafted the 1924 Eugenical Sterilization Act . While the litigation was making its way through the court system, Priddy died and his successor, John Hendren Bell, took up
5751-512: Was being violated. They also made the argument that the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment was being violated since not all similarly situated people were being treated the same. The sterilization law was only for the "feeble-minded" at certain state institutions and made no mention of other state institutions or those who were not in an institution. The legal challenge was consciously collusive, brought on behalf of
5832-544: Was born in Charlottesville, Virginia , the first of three children born to Emma Buck; she also had a half-sister, Doris Buck, and a half-brother, Roy Smith. Little is known about Emma Buck except that she was poor and married to Frederick Buck, who abandoned her early in their marriage. Emma was committed to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded after being accused of "immorality", prostitution , and having syphilis . After her birth, Carrie Buck
5913-445: Was cited as a precedent by the opinion of the court (part VIII) in Roe v. Wade , but not in support of abortion rights. To the contrary, Justice Blackmun quoted it to justify that the constitutional right to abortion is not unlimited. Blackmun claimed that the right to privacy was strong enough to prevent the state from protecting unborn life in the womb, but not strong enough to prevent a woman being sterilized against her will. In
5994-457: Was much more common. By 1956, twenty-four states had laws providing for involuntary sterilization on their books. These states collectively reported having forcibly sterilized 59,000 people over the preceding 50 years. Virginia implemented Laughlin's "Model Eugenical Sterilization Law" with little modification two years after it was published. An emergency existing, this act shall be enforced from its passage. Chap. 394. - An ACT to provide for
6075-492: Was not a penal statute, the Court held that it did not violate the Eighth Amendment , since it is not intended to be punitive. Citing the best interests of the state, Justice Holmes affirmed the value of a law like Virginia's in order to prevent the nation from being "swamped with incompetence." The Court accepted without evidence that Carrie and her mother were promiscuous, and that the three generations of Bucks shared
6156-519: Was of "low caliber." He did not challenge the claim that Carrie was illegitimate, which was false as a matter of Virginia state law because Carrie's parents were married at the time of her birth. Nor did he argue that Carrie's supposed "immorality" and Vivian's illegitimacy were due to a rape by the Dobbs' nephew, Clarence Garland. Buck lost in the trial court, where noted Virginia eugenicist Joseph DeJarnette testified against her. The case then moved to
6237-448: Was of average intelligence, far above feeblemindedness. She was a perfectly normal, quite average student, neither particularly outstanding nor much troubled. In those days before grade inflation, when C meant "good, 81–87" (as defined on her report card) rather than barely scraping by, Vivian Dobbs received A's and B's for deportment and C's for all academic subjects but mathematics (which was always difficult for her, and where she scored
6318-620: Was passed by the House and Senate in February 2002. In the same year, Bob Marshall , introduced a joint resolution referencing the 2001 eugenics resolution and calling for the establishment of a subcommittee to study issues related to stem cell research; however, this resolution did not pass the Rules committee. In 2013 and 2014, Marshall introduced the Justice for Victims of Sterilization Act to give compensation for up to $ 50,000 per person; however,
6399-497: Was placed with foster parents , John and Alice Dobbs. She attended public school , where she was noted to be an average student. When she was in sixth grade, the Dobbses removed her to have her help with housework. At 17, Buck became pregnant as a result of being raped by Alice Dobbs' nephew, Clarence Garland. On January 23, 1924, the Dobbses had her committed to the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded on
6480-513: Was renamed to Social Biology in 1969 and to Biodemography and Social Biology in 2008. The Journal has continued to publish original research articles and short reports from Taylor and Francis . Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 The Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 was a U.S. state law in Virginia for the sterilization of institutionalized persons "afflicted with hereditary forms of insanity that are recurrent, idiocy, imbecility, feeble-mindedness or epilepsy”. It greatly influenced
6561-429: Was to legitimize eugenic sterilization laws in the United States as a whole. While many states already had sterilization laws on their books, their use was erratic and effects practically non-existent in every state except for California . After Buck v. Bell , dozens of states added new sterilization statutes, or updated their constitutionally non-functional ones already enacted, with statutes which more closely mirrored
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