Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Buck v Bell

  In the landmark case of Buck v. Bell, the Supreme Court decided that states were able to regulate whether or not a mental patient can be sterilized. Eugenics are a set of beliefs that aim to improve the human population by excluding certain genetic groups judged to be inferior, and promoting certain genetic groups that are judged to be superior. Carrie Buck was the first to be operated on with the new sterilization law, and the case quickly surged its way up to the Supreme Court. By a vote of 8-1, the court decided that the Virginia law allowing state enforced sterilization was constitutional.



In the early 1900s, social darwinism became increasingly popular, social darwinism is the theory that the laws of natural selection also apply to humans. The theory of social darwinism led to eugenics, and the idea that Americans with desirable characteristics should reproduce, while Americans without desirable characteristics should be unable to reproduce. Only 1 judge, justice Pierce Butler, disagreed with the court's opinion to reaffirm the Virginia law forcing Buck to be sterilized. Carrie Buck was forced to be sterilized, and there was nothing she could do to stop the process.
   After America saw what happened to Nazi Germany, the law did not last very long, but many women in those years were sterilized to prevent them from reproducing.


   Looking back, this was clearly an offending, unethical law. However, at the time, it must have seemed like a smart law to many people, including 8 judges in the Supreme Court.

Sources:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/buck-vs-bell-in-1927-summary-decision.html

https://timeline.com/lucille-schreiber-forced-sterilization-e3987d304dc0

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/buck_v_bell_1927
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2019 at 2:04 PM

    This ruling does seem appalling in today's context. It makes me wonder whether this also had something to do with rape culture at the time as well, and how the ruling might have gone had it been a male being forcibly sterilized. Technically, the supreme court case has never been appealed, which is pretty disturbing in and of itself, though parts of it have been overturned. While the first sterilization law to be implemented in Indiana was meant to stop criminals such as rapists from having children, it seems in this case they went after the victim. This also suggests that criminality is somehow inherited by people, which is not backed by any data. While trauma can result in criminality, it is not their heritage that defines their actions. This also ties back into stereotypes. Because she had a child under-age, Buck was considered to be promiscuous and morally depraved. This justified the removal of her rights as a human without her consent, which only further exacerbates rape being the fault of the victim.

    Sources
    https://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-self-determination-freedom-from-involuntary-sterilization/

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