blog




  • Essay / Buck V Bell Case Study - 1398

    United States Supreme Court in 1927, in the case of Buck v. Bell, gave a legal example that states can sterilize inmates of public institutions (Lombardo, 2009). The court's argument was that epilepsy, feeble-mindedness and imbecility are hereditary and that it was important that prisoners did not pass these defects on to other generations. On May 2, 1927, the court ordered Buck Carrie, whom it called a feeble-minded girl, to be sterilized as a result of Virginia's 1924 eugenic sterilization law. Carrie had a stupid daughter and her mother was also stupid. The case determined that compulsory sterilization laws did not violate due process under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He established the legal mandate and supported the American eugenics movement to sterilize more than 60,000 citizens in more than thirty states. Most of these practices ended in the 1970s (Reilly, 1991). The relevant facts and context of the case indicate that Buck Carrie, an 18-year-old resident of the State of Virginia, was of unsound mind. Likewise, his mother was also stupid. Although she was not married, Carrie had a feeble-minded daughter (Brocato, 2008). The state of Virginia passed laws in 1924 authorizing superintendents of special institutions suffering from hereditary diseases and causing imbecile insanity to sterilize such persons. For the sterilization process to continue, superintendents were required to petition the board, notify the inmate and his guardian, and convene a hearing to testify against and for the implementation of the process (Black, 2003). In this case, Dr. Bell brought the proceedings against Ms. Carrie Buck. This was after his first doctor died during the case. Similarly, Bell emphasized Judge Douglas's view in the middle of the article that it is not right to use genetics and hereditary issues in legal decisions (Reilly, 1991). Such natural aspects should not violate the individual's right to procreation and the Fourteen Amendments. Everyone therefore has the right to fundamental civil rights. The eugenics movement disappeared after the atrocities committed by the German regime. Although Holmes ultimately overturned the Homes decision, Ms. Buck and many feeble-minded American citizens fell victim to the immorality of the state and the Supreme Court. Reviewing the period of intervention, neither society nor the individual benefited from compulsory sterilization laws. How attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities have changed over time is interesting. Since the late 1950s in the United States, the civil rights and women's rights movement has contributed to laws governing the rights of disabled people, including their reproductive rights..