BUCK VS BELL (1927) By Ms. Rodriguez

Background ■Eugenics, “a set of beliefs” and pseudoscientific practices” aimed at improving the genetic quality of humans”, was growing in power and influence in the early decades of the 20 th century (Currell, 203) ■In 1924 the state of Virginia enacted a law authorizing the compulsory sterilization of the intellectually disabled (Eugenics Archive). ■“Feebleminded” was a popular term used but was never really defined; it was essentially the belief that some people “were indeed mentally – and genetically – defective. As such, they would not be permitted to breed more of their kind.” (Black)

Background (Continued) ■Carrie Buck –18 year old woman who was deemed ‘feebleminded’ and ‘promiscuous’ because she came from a ‘feebleminded’ mother and had a child out of wedlock at a young age. Low education. –She was living at The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and the Feebleminded, where John H. Bell was the head Doctor.

Carrie Buck Vs. John Bell, 1927 Decided by the Taft Court Chief Justice William H. Taft (former President) Key Justices involved in the case: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

The Case Buck’s Argument ■Buck’s attorney argued that the compulsory sterilization law violated 4 th Amendment Due Process Rights (the right to procreate). ■Also argued that it violated the 14 th Amendment Right of Equal Protection under the law. Bell’s Argument ■Bell’s attorney argued that, since the Buck family had 3 generations of ‘feebleminded individuals’ that it proved imbecility to be genetic, and meant they posed a threat to society ■Also argued that the interest of Public Welfare “outweighed the interest of individuals in their bodily integrity”.

Results/Impact on the US ■Justices voted in favor of Bell in an 8-1 Majority; Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote the Majority Opinion. ■Carrie Buck was sterilized soon after; more states enacted eugenic legislation after the decision, leading to the sterilization of over 62,000 Americans. ■This decision has never been explicitly discussed by later Justices, though the later case of Skinner vs. Oklahoma ruled that prisoners could not be forcibly sterilized which partially overruled the Buck vs. Bell Decision ■Most states have overturned their sterilization laws, but forced sterilization was still happening in many places until the 1970’s,

Works Cited ■Currell, Susan; Christina Cogdell (2006). Popular Eugenics: National Efficiency and American Mass Culture in The 1930s. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. p. 203Ohio University Press ■Black, Edwin. War against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, Print. ■Eugenics Archive;