Eugenics+in+the+United+States

=The History of Eugenics in the United States of America= The Eugenics movement in the US began in the mid-19th century, although it did not have an umbrella term until. Eugenics, and its dark effect of compulsory sterilization, did not really gain mass support until the beginning of the 20th century when states began enacting laws regulating reproduction and marriage for those deemed “feeble-minded.” This criteria was later extended to include the “socially inadequate” with the creation of the Eugenics Records Office (ERO) in 1910. Harry H Laughlin, one of the creators of the ERO, published and distributed a Model Eugenics Law that became the base of many such laws nationwide.

So, what exactly did feeble-minded and socially inadequate mean? According to the American Association of Mental Deficiency (now the American Association of Intellectual Disability) to qualify as feeble-minded, one needed to have an IQ lower than 85. To be deemed socially inadequate, one must be perpetuating “amoral” behaviors, like alcoholism, being poor, displaying promiscuity, coming from a family with a criminal history. Also under the giant purview of feeble-mindedness were mental illness and epilepsy. The definition of feebleminded grew to include those deemed "moral defectives", meaning " some permanent mental defect coupled with strong vicious or criminal propensities on which punishment had little or no effect." This included most people who required some sort of public assistance, especially petty criminals, drunkards, and women who had children out of wedlock.

"Every single case of [a person born with a disability] is of infinite importance to that poor individual; but it is of scarcely less important to the rest of us . . .who must pay [. . .] for these biological and racial mistakes." One of the most controversial entanglements regarding eugenics in the US is between Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, and the eugenicists of the day. Sanger, in seeking funding for her birth control clinic, found financial partnership from many of the rich families that had supported teh Eugenics Records Office (ERO). While Sanger's goal was to prevent children from being born into disadvantaged home situations, she adopted the rhetoric and language of the Eugenics Movement to gain power for her cause. It is worth noting that Sanger herself was not a eugenicist, but the established connection between the ERO and her, as well as her choice of locations for reproductive clinics, make her a polarizing figure in the worlds of sexual health, race-based discrimination history, and eugenics.

Beginning in 1907, a series of "Moral Hygiene" laws were enacted throughout the US, the first in Indiana. Overall, [x] states had compulsory sterilization laws, using them with a rage of vigor. The last compulsory, legal sterilization under one of these laws was performed in 1981 in Oregon By the end of the formal Eugenics Movement in the US, more than 60,000 people had been compulsorily sterilized.



To date, a number of states have Eugenics laws on the books, although they have been inactive for decades. Notably, Delaware has never made any effort to repeal its law regarding compulsory sterilization.

=US Eugenics today:=
 * ==California Prison System==
 * ==After Hurricane Katrina==
 * ==The "Ashley/Pillow Angel" Treatment==