On Sun, 20 Jun 1999, Linda M. Woolf wrote:
>
> Anyway, in the chapter, he discusses different forms of eugenic policy. For example,
> he argues for the sterilization of the "mentally deficient" (remember, the U.S.
>really
> lead the world in terms of sterilization of "inferiors" legislation).
Linda,
The classic case here is Buck vs. Bell. In the opinion of the Supreme
Court, "Three generations of idiots is enough." That, by Chief Justice
Holmes. Problem was that Carrie Buck who sued the Superintendent of the
Lynchburg (VA) Training School and Hospital for the right to be sterilized
was NOT retarded!
Background: The law of the Commonwealth based upon eugenic principles
stated that retarded females could not be discharged until they were past
child bearing age. The institution was over-crowded then; it still was
when I spent five years working there first as a grant director and then
as an administrator in the mid-1970s. Carrie was articulate enough that
she was chosen to bring suit against Dr. Bell.
All the way to the Supreme Court it was a set-up. Bell did not defend
himself, in fact he assisted Carrie Buck's case by bringing in eugenics
experts to testify in in favor of steriliztion.
Though neither of Carrie's illegitimate children survived to to adulthood,
both did quite well in the Charlotteville, VA schools -- quite a
competitive academic environment. Carrie and her mother, for that matter,
could better be described as what they used to call in the South, "poor
white trash" and not retarded. Carrie was remanded to LTSH because she was
too sexually liberated by community standards. Two illegitimate children?
How times change!
After Carrie had had her tubes tied she was discharged. She then married a
widower with several children. While I worked there several of us managed
to unearth her file. In it was a letter in her own hand written to Dr.
Bell. In that letter she thanked him for all he had done to make it
possible for her to be discharged. She also told about her new family and
that she was teaching a children's Sunday School class at the church she
attended. Her hand writing, spelling and grammar were as good as that of
college freshpersons of the 1970s, and much better than what I see today.
I said in her own hand writing. This was based on the existence of some
samples of her written work from the educational unit at LTSH. In other
words, no one wrote the letter to Dr. Bell for her.
The Virginia law mandating the sterilizing of retarded females was not
rescinded until (if I recall) the early 1970s
Hope you find this an interesting aside.
PS: First run through my "non-PSYC" library produced no Jesus the
Pharisee.
Pax tecem. [Peace to you (singular)]
Al
Al L. Cone, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair
Department of Psychology 701.252.3467 X 2604
Jamestown College
6019 College Lane [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jamestown, ND 58405
