Oliver Wendell Holmes in the 1927 Buck vs. Bell decision upholding the forced sterilization of Carrie Buck, ‘feeble-minded.’ [Reference] An Act of Virginia, approved March 20, 1924, recites that the health of the patient and the welfare of society may be promoted in certain cases by the sterilization of mental defectives, under careful safeguard, &c.; …
Category: imbeciles
Buck vs. Bell Supreme Court Decision, Opinion by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1927)
Oliver Wendell Holmes delivering the Supreme Court’s decision in Buck vs. Bell [Source] 274 U.S. 200 Buck v. Bell (No. 292) Argued: April 22, 1927 Decided: May 2, 1927 143 Va. 310, affirmed. Syllabus 1. The Virginia statute providing for the sexual sterilization of inmates of institutions supported by the State who shall be found …
The Duty of the State in the Treatment of the Deformed: R. Z. Mason, Appleton WI, 1879
R.Z. Mason, mayor of Appleton, WI, “The Duty of the State in its Treatment of the Deaf and Dumb, the Blind, the Idiotic, the Crippled and Deformed, and the Insane.” [Source / Italics added, bold text added] In the progress of modern civilization, the state has come slowly to a recognition of certain duties and …
Virginia Woolf: Defective idiots and imbeciles “should certainly be killed.” (1915)
Author Virginia Woolf, in a 1915 diary entry describing some people she saw while on a walk: we met & had to pass a long line of imbeciles. the first was a very tall young man, just queer enough to look at twice, but no more; the second shuffled, & looked aside; and then one …
G. P. Mudge, “Biology, Theology and Medicine in Relation to the State.” and the crippling of the nation
G. P. Mudge, “Biology, Theology and Medicine in Relation to the State.” London Hospital Gazette, Yol. 17, No. S. May, 1911. pp. 189-193. As quoted by Leonard Cole at the First Conference for Race Betterment in 1914. No doubt it seemeth right to alleviate misery, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to pamper …
Are imbeciles, the feeble-minded, criminals, humans? This Eugenicist says NO
One of the clear implications of the eugenicist mindset was that there were certain humans who were not really humans. It was not common to hear this directly put, although in many cases they come very close. It is important to realize that they did not think they were being prejudicial, but rather, scientific. After …
American and British Eugenicists Agree: Life Unworthy of Life
The phrase ‘life unworthy of life‘ is known particularly because of the fact that the Nazis used it when eliminating ‘defectives’ in their Action T4 project (and later, in reference to the Jews), but American and British Eugenicists also were known in terms of ‘lives unworthy of life.’ Quotes are provided below. ————- Herbert Spencer, …
Eugenics and Evolution are Incompatible with Charity and Altruism
One of the common themes of eugenic writers is that if Darwinism and evolution were properly understood, charity and altruism could very well inflict a great harm on a population, and indeed, threatening to do just that. This post will catalog quotes of eugenicists making that argument. ——— From Madison Grant in The Passing of …
The Obstacle of Sentiment and Sentimentalists to Pure Scientific Application
One of the common themes that surfaces in eugenic writings is their annoyance that others do not act on the logical implications of Science. Note that, in the main, they are not taking issue with people who do not agree with their conclusions, but rather those who do agree–but will not act on them. This …
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