Eugenical Sterilization in the USA

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United States

-

Eugenical Sterilization

in th e

BY

HARRYAMILTONAUGHLIN,. Sc.

-

Assistant Director of the Eugenics Record Office, ,

Carnegie Institution of Washington,

Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York,.

an d

Eugenics Associate of the Psychopathic Laboratory

of the Municipal Court of Chicago.

Published by the

PSYCHOPATHICABORATORYF THE MUNICIPALOURT

O F CHICAGO

D E C E M B E X ,92 2



CHAPTER XV

MODEL EUGENICAL STERILIZATION LAW

................................... Princ ip les Sugges ted for a S tanda td S ta te Law

B. F u l l T e x t f o r a ~ o d e l ~ t a t ea w.Section 1. Short t i t l e . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .Sect ion 2 Definitions.

a. Socially inadequate person ..............................................b. Socially inadequate classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .c. H e re d i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Potent ia l pa rente. T o p r oc re at e . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Potential parent of socially inadequate offspring......................................................Cacogenic person

.................................................... Custodial institutioni. I n m a t e . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .j. Eugenical sterilization ...........................................................................................ect ion 3. Office of State Eugenicist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ection 4 Qaalifica*ions of Sta te Eu gen icist ......................ection 5 Term of Office . Appointment and Responsibi l i ty

Section 6. Sea l ...............................................................Sect ion 7. Duties of Sta te Eugenicist.

a . Field surveys ...........................................................b. Fur the r e xa mina t ions ..................................................c . Roster custodial inst i tut ions .............................................d. Case-histories ..........................................................e. Records State Eugenicist 's office ........................................f. O the r du t i e s ............................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ection 8 Cooperat ion by custodial inst i tut ions

Section 9. Pow e r t o a dmin i s t e r oa ths a nd ma ke a r re s t s ........................Section 10 Opinion of Sta te Eugenicist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sect ion 11 Appointment of da te for hear ing ...................................Sect ion 12 Notification of parties concerned ....................................Sect ion 13 State 's legal counsel ...............................................Section 14 Determina t ion by jury .............................................Section 15. J u d g m e n t ........................................................Section 16 Appea ls ..........................................................Section 17 T y p e of eugenical sterilization ......................................Section 18. M ann er of consumm ation ..........................................Section 19. Liability ..........................................................Section 2 0. Illegal destruction of reproductive functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...........ect ion Â£. P u n i s h m e n t of responsible head of institution for dereliction

Sect ion 22. Sup rem acy of this act ..............................................Sect ion 23. W. en effective ...................................................C. The Federa l G overn men t and Eugenica l S te ri l iza t ion.

a. Principles suggested for a Federal Sta tute ........ . ..........................b. C o m m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



A. P R I N C I P L E S S U G G E S T E D F O R A

S T A N D A R D S T A T E L A W .

I t may be sa fe ly s ta ted th a t the exper i -

mental period for eugenical sterilization legis-la t ion has been passed so that i t is now pos-

sible to enact a just and eugenically effectives ta tu te o n th is subject . T he fo llowing out -

l ine se ts for th the under lying pr inciples

which should guide such a law.

Pers ons Subject . All persons in the Sta tewho, because of degenerate or defect ivehereditary quali t ies are potentia l parents of

socia l ly inadequate offspr ing, regardless of

whether such persons be in the populat ion

a t large or inmates of custodial inst i tut ions,

regardless a lso of the personali ty, sex, age,

marital condition, race, or possessions ofsuch person. Stan dard s established and

terms def ined by the sta tute .

Execu tive Agen cies Provided. Sta te

Eugenicist who shall devote his entire t ime

and attention to his office, aided by an ample

corps of assis tants , se lected by appointment

or c ivi l service according to the customs ofthe par t icular s ta te .

Bas is of Selection: Procedure . 1. Invest i-

a t ion by S ta te Eugenic is t upon h is owninitia t ive o r upon c omp laints lodged o r in-formation given by an off ic ia l , an organiza-

t ion o r a c i t izen. 2. Op inion con cerning a

particular ind ividual in reference to "potential

pare nth ood of social ly inadequ ate offspring"

rendered after scientific investigation, by

Sta t e Eugenic ist to Cou r t of Record . 3. E a r l yda te se t by cour t for hear ing case . 4. C o u r tt o not i fy an d su mm on in te res ted par tie s. 5.

Due provision for legal counsel for the de-

fendant and for t r ia l by jury. 6. Judgm e n t :Order for eugenical s ter i l iza t ion if the con-

tention of the Sta te Eugenicist is upheld7. Execution of the order under the super-

vision and responsibi l i ty of the Sta te Eugen-icist. 8. In case of inmates of institutions,execution of order may be suspended unti linmate is about to be re leased, a l lowinqample time for convalescence. 9. Provision

for the study of mental, moral, physiological,

social an d econom ic effects of differe nt ty?es

of sterilization.

Type of Opera t ion Author ized . 1. " S u r -gical operat ion upon or medical t reatmentof the reproduc t ive organs of the humanmale or female in consequence of which thepower to procrea te of f spr ing i s pe rmanent ly

nullified." 2. Specific type of operation or

t rea tment in each case to hc de te rmined hy

the Sta te Eugenicist upon the advice of

duly qualified physicians an d surg eon s. 3.

Due provision for safe , ski l l ful and humane

opera t ion and t rea tment .

State's Motive. Purely eugenic , that is , to

prevent ce r ta in degenera te human s tock

f rom reproduc ing it s k ind. Absolu te ly nopunitive element.

Appropr ia t ions Ava ilable for En forc ing th eAct. Ample appropr ia t ions for the mainte -nance of the activities of the State Eugen-

icist a s a perma nen t a nd effective institution.

B. F U L L T E X T F O R A M O D E L

S T A T E L A W .

AN AC T to p r e ve n t t he p r oc r e a t ion o f

persons socia l ly inadequate f rom defectiveinheritance, by authorizing' and providing forthe eugcnical sterilization of certain potential

parents c arryi ng degenerate hered itary quali-

ties.

B e I t Ena c te d B y T h e P e o p l e O f T h e

Sta te of . . .. ....... . tha t :

Section 1. Sh or t Ti tle . Th is Ac t shal l be

know n as the "Rugenical Ster i liza tion L aw."

Section 2. Definitions. F o r the purpose

of th is Ac t , the te rms (a ) soc ia l ly inadequa teperson, (b ) socia l ly inadequate c lasses, (c)heredity, (d ) potentia l parent , (e) to pro-

create , ( f ) potentia l pare nt of socia l ly in-

adeq uate off spr ing, (g ) cacogenic person,

(h) custodial inst i tut ion, ( i ) inmate , and ( j )

eugerdcal sterilization, are hereby defined

as fo l lows:

(a ) A socia l ly inadequa te person is on ewho by his or her own effor t , regardless of

et iology or prognosis , fa i ls chronical ly in

comparison wi th normal pe rsons , to mainta inhimself o r herself as a useful m em ber of the

organized social life of the state; provided

that the term socia l ly inadequate shall not beapplied to any person whose individual or

socia l ineffect iveness is due to the normallyexpected exigencies of youth, old age, curablein jur ies , o r temporary phys ica l or menta lillness, in case such ineffectiveness is ade-

quately taken care of by the particular family

in which it occurs.

(b ) T he socia lly inadequa te c lasses, regard-less of etiology or prognosis, are the follow-ing: (1 ) Feeble -minded; (2) Insa ne , (in-c luding the psychopa th ic ) : (3) Criminalistic

( inc luding the de l inquent and wayward) ;(4) Epileptic; (5) Inebr ia te ( inc luding drug-ha b i tue s ) ; (6) Diseased ( includ ing the tuber-

culous, the syphil i t ic . the leprous, and otherswith chronic. infectioiis and legally segre-



gable diseases); (7 ) Blind (including those

with seriously impaired vision) ; (8) Deaf

(including those with seriously impaired

hearing); (9) Deformed (including the

crippled) ; and (10) Dependent (including

orphans, ne'er-do-wells, the homeless, tramps

and paupers).(c) Heredity in the human species is the

transmission, through spermatozoon and

ovum, of physical, physiological and psycho-

logical qualities, fr6m parents to offspring;

by extension it shall be interpreted in this

Act to include also the transmission post-

conceptionally and ante-natally of physiolog-

ical' weakness, poisons o r infections from

parent or parents t o offspring.

(d) A potential parent is a person who

now, or in the future course of development,

may reasonably by expected to be able to

procreate offspring.

(e) T o procreate means to beget o r t o con-

ceive offspring. and applies equally to males

and females.

(f) A potential parent of socially inade-

quate offspring is a person who, regardless

of his or her own physical, physiological or

psychological personality, and of the nature

of the germ-plasm of such person's co-parent, is a potential parent at least one-

fourth of whose possible offspring, because

of the certain inheritance from said parent

of one or more inferior or degenerate phy-

sical, physiological or psychological qualities

would, on the average, according to the

demonstrated laws of heredity, most pro-

bably function as socially inadequate per-

sons; or at least one-half of whose possible

offspring would receive from said parent.

and would carry in the germ-plasm but

would not necessarily show in the person-

ality, the genes or genes-complex for one or

more inferior or degenerate physical, phy-

siological or psychological qualities. the ap-

pearance of which quality or qualities in the

personality would cause the possessor thereof

to function a s a socially inadequate person,

under the normal environment of the !late.

(g) The term cacogenic person, as herein

used, is a purely legal expression. and shallbe applied only to persons declared, under

the legal procedure provided by this Act. to

be potential parents of socially inadequate

offspring.

(h) A custodial institution is a habitation

which, regardless of whether its authority

or support be public or private, provides

(1 ) food and lodging, and (2) restraint, treat-

more socially inadequate inmates; provided

that the term custodial institution shall not

apply t o a private household in which the

socially inadequate member or members are

close blood-kin or marriage relations to, o r

legally adopted by, an immediate member of

the care-taking family.(i) An inmate is a socially inadequate

person who is a prisoner, patient, pupil, or

member of, or who is otherwise held, treated.

trained, cared for, or resident within a custo-

dial institution, regardless of whether the

relation of such person to such institution be

voluntary or involuntary, or that of pay or

charity.

(j) Eugenical Sterilization is a surgical

operation upon or the medical treatment of

the reproductive organs of the human male

or female, in consequence of which the power

to procreate offspring is surely and per-

manently nullified: provided, that as used in

this Act the term eugenical sterilization shall

imply skillful, safe and humane medical and

surgical treatment of the least radical nature

necessary to achieve permanent sexual steril-

ity and the highest possible therapeutic bene-

fits depending upon the exigencies of each

particular case.Section 3. office of Sta te Eugenicist.

There is hereby established for the State of. .. . . . . .. .. the office of State Eugenicist,

the function of which shall be to protect the

state against the procreation of persons

socially inadequate from degenerate or defect-

ive physical. physiological or psychological

inheritance.

Section 4. Qualifications of Sta te Eugen-

icist. Th e State Eugenicist shall be a trained

student of human heredity, and shall be

skilled in the modern practice of securing

and analyzing human pedigrees: and he shall

be required 'to devote his entire time and

attention to the duties of his office as herein

contemplated.

Section 5. Term of Office, Appointment,

and Responsibility. Th e State Eugenicist

sha l l be appointed by the Governor, with

the consent of the Senate, shall be responsi-

ble directly to the Governor, and shall holdoffice until removed by death, resignation,

or until his successor shall have been duly

appointed.

Section 6. Seal. The Governor of the

State shall cause a seal to be fashioned and

made for the Office of the Stat e Eugenicis t,

which seal shall be duly entrusted to the

State Eugenicist and shall constitute the



Section 7. Dut ies of Sta te Eugenic ist . I t

sha l l be th e duty of the S ta te E ugenic ist :

(a) T o conduct f ie ld-surveys seeking f i rst -hand data concern ing the heredi tary con-

st i tut ion of al l persons in the State who are

social ly inadequate personal ly or who, al-though normal personal ly, carry degenerate

or defective hereditary qualities of a sociallyinadequat ing nature , and to coopera te wi th ,to hear the c om plaints of, and t o seek in-formation from individuals and public andprivate social-welfare, charitable and scien-

tific organizations possessing special ac-quaintance with and knowledge of such per-

sons , to the end tha t the Sta te shal l possess

equally accu rate da ta in reference t o the per-sonal and family histories of all personsexis t ing in the S ta te , who a re potent ia l

parents of socially inadequate offspring,regardless of whether such potent ial parentsbe m em bers of the popula tion a t la rge orinmates of custodial inst i tut ions, regardless

also of the personality, sex. age. mari tal con-

dition, race or possessions of such persons.

(b) T o examine fu r the r i n to the na tu ralphysical, physiological and psychological

trai ts , the environment, the personal his-tories, and the family-pedigrees of all per-sons ex is t ing in the Sta te , whether in thepopula t ion a t la rge o r as inmates of custodial

ins t i tu t ions , who reasonably appear to be

potential parents of socially inadequate off-

spr ing , wi th the v iew to de termining more

defini tely whether in each part icular case theindividual is a cacogenic person within them ean ing of th is Act .

(c) T o main ta in a ros ter of a l l public and

private custodial inst i tut ions in the state,and to require from the responsible head of

each such inst i tut ion, a record by ful l names

and addresses, social and medical diagnosis

an d o th er per t inent da ta in reference to a l l

accessions and losses of inma tes as suchoccur f rom t ime to t ime; the sa id Sta teEugenicist may require a copy of any recordwhich the par t icu lar ins t i tu t ion may possess

in reference to the case, family or inst i tu-t ional histories of any inmate which the State

Eugenic is t may name.

(d) T o fo llow up. s o far a s possib le , the

case-histories of persons eugenically steril-ized und er this A ct, -with special reference totheir social , economic, mari tal and heal threcords , and to invest iga te t he speci fic effec tsof eugenical sterilization.

c is t , and annual ly to render to the Governor

in wri t ing a t rue and complete rep ort thereof.

( f ) T o p e rfo rm s u ch o t h e r d u t ie s a s a r eenumerated elsewhere in this Act .

Sect ion 8. Coopera t ion by Custodia l In-

st i tut ions. F or the purpose of securing thefacts essent ial to the determinat ion required

by this Act , the responsible head of anypublic or private custodial inst i tut ion within

the Sta te shal l , on demand, render prompt lyt o the S ta te Eugenic is t a ll reports here incon templa t ed , , and sha ll ex t end to said O f-f icer and h is duly appoin ted agents ready

access to a l l records and inmates of the

particular institution.

Sect ion 9. Po w e r t o A d mi ni st er O a t h sand to Make Arres ts . Th e S ta te Eugen ic i st

and his assistants appointed in wri t ing byhim for the purpose, shal l have power toadminis ter oa ths , to subpoena and to examinewi tnesses under oa th , and to make arres t s .

Sect ion 10. Opinion of S ta te Eugenicist .

If , after an invest igat ion contemplated by

this Act , the State Eugenicist is of the

opinion that a part icular subject of such in-

vestigation, which such sub ject is here inafte rcalled the propositus. is a potential parent

of socially inadequate offspring, i t shall bethe d uty of said S ta te Eugenic is t to presentsuch opinion in wri t ing, to a co urt of rec ord

in the County wherein the part icular propo-

situs resides, sojourns, is held or is ap-prehended; provided that such opinion shal l

be accompanied by the historical and biolog-ical evidence upon which such opinion isbased, and by a pet i t ion to said court prayingfor the legal determinat ion of the quest ionof fact , whether the part icular proposi tus is .

a s held in the opinion, a potent ial parent of

social ly inadequate o ffspring; provided that

in case of apparent over-sight or derelictionby the Sta te Eugenic is t , any c i t izen of thestate over twenty-one years of age, of soundmind and respected character, may inst i tuteproceedings for the legal determinat ion of

the quest ion in fact , whether a part icular

nam ed person is , as such com plaining ci tizenm ay allege, a po tential pa rent of socially

inadequate offspr ing , by present ing to the

court of record in the county in which thepart icular proposi tus l ives or sojourns, as ta tem ent duly sworn t o re la t ing-the ev idence

upon which the part icular al legat ion isbased, and praying for a legal determinat ion

of th e above-stated question of fact, wh ere-



shall dismiss the case or shall command the

State Eugenicist to make the eugenical in-

vestigation provided for by this Act in refer-

ence to the particular propositus, and to

return his findings back to the court issuing

such command, which findings shall be

returned within ninety days of the issuing of

such command and 'shall contain an opinion

by the State Eugenicist as to whether the

particular propositus is in fact a potential

parent of socially inadequate offspring; pro-vided that if such report presents the opinion

that the particular propositus is a potential

parent of sodally inadequate offspring, the

legal and eugenical processes in the case

shall proceed as in other cases as provided by

this Act; provided that if such report pre-sents the opinion that the particular propo-

situs is not a potential parent of socially

inadequate offspring, the court may, in its

discretion, dismiss the case or may order the

legal and eugenical processes to proceed

as in other cases provided by this Act.

Section 11. Appointment of Date for

Hearing. Within ten days after the presen-

tation of the written opinion by the State

Eugenicist holding a particular propositus tobe a potential parent of socially inadequate

offspring, or the presentation of a negative

opinion by the State Eugenicist contrarily

to which opinion the court determines to pro-

ceed, it shall be the duty of the court to

which such opinion is presented to appoint

a time for hearing the case, which appointed

time shall be within thirty days of the ap-

pointing day if the court receiving the opinion

is in continuous session, and not later than

the next regular session, if said court is held

periodically.

Section 1% Notification of Parties Con-

corned. I t shall be the further duty of said

court to notify the propositus or the legal

guardian, custodian, or next friend of said

propositus, the Attorney-General of the

State, and the State Eugenicist, concerning

the time, place and nature of the con-

templated hearing; to summon the propositus

to' such hearing, or if said propositus beunder legal guardianship, in custody, or if,

in the opinion of said court, said propositus

be incapable of understanding the nature

of a summons, to command the legal guardi-

an, or custodian of said propositus, or an

executive officer of said court, to present

the person of said propositus before said

court at the appointed time and place; to sub-

resent the propositus; and to institute such

other processes as may be necesary accord-

ing to the statutes of the state and customs

of the particular court, in order to insure

a prompt, just and legal decision in the

matter.

Section 13. The State's Legal Counsel.

In all legal actions growing out of this Act,

it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General

of the State, assisted by the prosecuting

attorney of the county in which the particu-

lar court is seated, to represent the State.

Section 14. Determination by Jury. On

demand of either party to a hearing as herein

contemplated, the question of fact shall be

decided by a majority vote of a jury of six,

summoned and conducted in accordance with

the laws of the State governing trials by jury,

but in case no such demand be made, the

judge presiding over the court shall decide

the case.

Section 15. Judgment. If, after the case

has been duly heard and tried, it is the

opinion of the court or the jury, as the case

may be, that the particular propositus is a

potential parent of socially inadequate off-

spring within the meaning of this Act, itshall be the duty of said court t o declare the

particular propositus to be a cacogenic per-

son, and to command the State Eugenicist

to arrest, if need be, such particular cacogenic

person, and to cause such person to be

eugenically sterilized in a skillful, safe and

humane manner, and with due regard to the

possible therapeutical benefits of such treat-

ment of operation; securing, if possible, the

consent and cooperation of said cacogenicperson, and, if such there be, of the legal

guardian, custodian or next friend of said

cacogenic person; and such court shall fur-

ther command that the particular cacogenic

person shall not be released from the custody

of the State Eugenicist until said order haq

been duly executed, but that the said particu-

lar cacogenic person be not held in the

custody of the State Eugenicist longer than

is necessary for the consummation of the

eugenical sterilization and convalescence

therefrom; and said court shall further com-

mand the State Eugenicist to report back,

immediately upon the release of the person

sterilized, to the court issuing the said com-

mand, a sworn statement as to the identity

of the person eugenically sterilized and the

place, date, nature and outcome of the

particular operation or treatment; provided



shal l i ssue a supplementary order com mand-in g the responsible h ead of such particularcustodial institution to provide access forthe Sta te Eugenic is t and the physic ian andsurgeon appointed by said State Eugenicist ,t o the person of the part icular cacogenic

person in the best-equipped hospital quar-ters which such custodial inst i tut ion affordsfo r the consum mation of the part iculareugenical ster i l izing operation or treatment,and to a id and co-opera te in such consum-mation; provided that in case the court i~convinced tha t the conduct o r secur i ty ofsaid cacogenic person is such that said per-son wil l not become a parent , the court mayin i ts discretion suspend th e ord er for eugeni-cal sterilization during the period of such

conduct and securi ty .

Section 18. Appeals, I n litigation grow-ing out of this Act, appeals from the deci-sion of the court of first instance shall lieas in c iv il t r ia ls d e novo a t law, a s providedby the s ta tu tes of the Sta te .

Section 17. Type of Eugenical Steriliza-tion. T h e particu lar typ e of surgical opera -t ion or m edical treatm ent for effecting steri l-

ization in each particular case legally or-dered in consequence of this Act shall bedetermined upon by the State Eugenicist .a f te r due consul ta t ion wi th competen t med-ical and surgical advisors.

Section 18. Manner of Consummation.All cases of eugenical sterilization executedin consequence of this Act shall be cons'um-ma ted under the direct supervision an d- rc-sponsibility of the State Eugenicist, in a

skil lful , safe and humane manner , with dueregard to the possible therapeutic benefi tsto be derived therefrom, and in str ict accor-dance with modern sanitary, hospital , med-ical and surgical knowledge and practice;provided that the contracts for the hospital .medical and surgical services involved insuch consummation shall be entered into forthe Sta te by the Sta te Eugenic is t , who shal ldetermine the necessary and reasonable feesincident thereto, which fees shall be paid

by the Sta te f rom funds prev iously approp-r iated for said purpose; provided that incase the person ordered ster i l ized be an in-mate of a custodial institution, and if inthe opinion of the State Eugenicist , the hos-pital facilities of the particular institutionar e inadequate, o r if t ime ample for eugen-ical sterilization and convalescence does notpermit the part icular -operation or treatment

to be consummated before the t ime previ-ously set for the discharge, release or paroleof the part icular propositus, the order foreugenical sterilization shall not be consum-mated in the custodial inst i tut ion, but thatthe responsible head of said particular cus-

todial inst i tut ion shall a t the t ime previouslyset for the discharge, release or parole ofthe part icular propositus, so discharge, re-lease or parole said person into the custodyof the State Eugenicist , who shall then pro-ceed lo execute the order for the eugenica lster i l izat ion as in cases or iginating in thepopulation at large.

Section 19. Liability. Neither the Sta teEugenicist , nor any other person legally par-

t icipating in the execution of the provisionsof this Act, shall be liable either civilly orcriminally on account of said participation.

Section 20. Illegal Destruc t ion of Repro-ductive Functions. Nothing in this Act shallbe const rued so as to prevent the medica lor surg ica l t rea tment for sound therapeut icreasons of a n y person in th is S tate, by aphysician or surgeon l icensed by this State,which treatment may incidental ly involvethe nullification or destruction of the re-

productive functions; provided that a n y per-son in th is Sta te , except as du ly ordered bythe courts of law as contemplated in thisAct, who wilfully , and without the afore-mentioned therapeutical necessity, nullifiesor destroys or assists in null ifying or de-stroying, the reproductive functions of anyperson, shall be guilty of a felony, and shallbe punished by not less than-months'imprisonment or a fine ofÃ‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘doll orbbth, or by not more than-monthsim prisonm ent or a fine o f d o l l a r s , o rboth.

Section 21. Pun ishmen t o f Responsible

H ea d of Ins t i tu t ion fo r Derel ic t ion . T heresponsible head of any public or privatecustodial inst i tut ion in the State who shalld ischarge , re lease or paro le f rom h is or hercus tody o r ca re any inmate who has beenduly ordered by a cour t o f th is S ta te t o beeugenically ster i l ized, before due consumma-

tion of such order as herein contemplated,unless, as herein provided, such part icularinmate be discharged, released or paroledin to the custody of the Sta te Eugenic is t ,shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shallbe punished by not less than-months'im prisonm ent o r d o l l a r s f ine, o r bo th ;o r by no t m ore than-months' im pris on-m en t or--dollars fine, o r bo th.



Sect ion 22. Sup rem acy of th is Act. All

s tatu tes or portions of s t atu tes of this St ate

con t ra ry t o th i s Act a re hereby repealed .

Sect ion 23. W h e n Ef fec tive. Th is Act

shall take effect immediately.

C. THE F E D E R A L G O V E R N M E N T

A N D E U G E N I C A L S T E R I L IZ A T I O N .

a. Principles S u g g es t ed f o r a Federal

Statute.

Persons Subject . 1. I m m i g r an t s w h o a r e

personally e l ig ible t o admiss ion bu t who

b y the s tandards r ecommended in the model

sta te law ar e potential paren ts of socially

inadequate offspring. 2. All persons below

the s tand ards of parenthood set in the model

s ta te law w ho a re beyond the jur isdict ion

of s t at e laws, including the in habitants ofthe Dis t r ic t of Co lun~b ia , unorganized and

out lyin g terri tories , Ind ian reservations. in-

mates of federal institutions. and soldiers

and sailors.

Execut ive Agencies Provided. Federal

Eugenicis t a t tached to Publ ic Heal th Ser-vice or the Children's Bureau, aided by an

ample corps of assis tants .

Bas is of Selection: Procedure. Sam e as

for model state law, naming in place of

state courts of record, Federal Courts of

appropriate jurisdiction.

Type of Ope ratio n Authorized. S am e a sfor model s ta te law.

United States ' Motive. Purely eugen icAppropiat ions Avai lable for Enforcing the

Act. Ample approp riations for the main-

tenance of the activit ies of the Federal Eu-

genicist as a perm anent and effective insti-

tution.

U p to the p resen t t ime , the Federa l Gov-ernment has not enacted any legis la t ion

bearing either directly or indirectly uponeugenical s teril ization. T h e m att er of seg-regating, s teri l izing, or otherwise rendering

non-reproductive the degenerate human

strains in America is , in accordance with the

spiri t of our insti tutions, fundamentally amat ter for each s ta te to decide for i t se l f .There is, however, a specialized field in

which the Federal Government must co-

breeding s tock in our popu la t ion i s to be

purged of i ts defective parenthood.

T h e re lat ion between the inher i table

qualit ies of our immigrants and the destinyof the American nation is ver y close. Gr ant -

in g tha t the fecundi ty of nat ive a nd immi-grant s tock will run evenly, then i t is clear

tha t f rom generat ion to genera tion the na t -ural qualit ies of our present human parent-hood wi l l more and more as sume the char -acter of th e natural qual i t ies of im mig rantparents. Th us , if th e Am erican nation de-s i r es t o upbu ild o r even to m ain ta in i t ss tandard of natural qualit ies , i t must forbidthe addi t ion through immigrat ion to our

human breeding stock of persons of a lower

natural heredi tary cons t i tu t ion than thatwhich cons t i tu tes the des ired s tandard.

I f our s tandard of phys ical , mental andmoral qual i t ies for parenthood s t r ike moreheavi ly agains t one race than another , thenwe should be wil l ing to enforce laws whichtake o n th e appea rance of racial discrimina-

tion but which indeed would not be such,

because in every race, even the very lowes t ,

there a re some ind iv idua ls who th roughna tu ra l mer i t cou ld con form t o our s tandards

of admission.

The immigration policy of the eugenicis t ,who has a t hear t the preservat ion, upbui ld-

ing and specialization of our b ette r family

stocks. is t o base the criterion for admission

of would-be immigrants pr imar i ly upon thepossession of ste rlin g na tur al qualities, re-gardless of race, language, or pres ent socialor economic condition.

I t i s sugges ted tha t a Fed eral Eugenicis t ,a t t ached to the Pub l ic Hea l th Serv ice , o r tothe Children 's Bureau, a ided by an amp le

corps of assis tants , would consti tute aneffective administrative agency for s teri l iza-t ion under federal author i ty . Some of the

assis tants of t he office of F ederal Euge nicis tshould be delegated to cooperate with theImm igrat ion Service of th e Dep ar tm ent ofLabor , and the Bureaus of Cr iminal Ident i -

f ication, an d of Prisons, of the D epa rtm en tof Justice, and possibly with the Bureau of

Education of the Department of the Interior .I f the projected plan for examining the ad-missibil i ty of immigrants in their nativehomes before their purchase of transporta-t ion, or even upon the s teamships beforelanding, were ad opted, i t would be possible

to pass sat is factor i ly upon the eugenical



This would be effected by at taching eugen-

icists to th e medical and social staff to

which would be delegated the task of deter-

m inin g the eugenical qualifications of each

candidate for admission.

The Federa l Government has exclusive

jurisdict ion over immigrants, and i t controlsin ters ta te and fore ign quaran tine. I t has

also exclusive jurisdiction, either direct or

final, over the socially inadequate, both with-

in and not in custodial inst i tut ions, in the

Distr ict of Columbia, the Indian reserva-

t ions, and the terr i tor ies which have not yet

been adm it ted t o s tatehood. I t opera tes and

contro ls the twenty- four federa l custod ia l

inst i tut ions for various types of the social ly

inadequate. T hu s a Federa l law would be

needed in order effectually to cooperate with

the eugenical effor ts of the states, should

the la t te r genera l ly de termine upon s ter i l i -zat ion a s a means fo r cu t ting down the

bir th ra te am on g degenera tes . T he office

of Federa l Eugenic is t a t tached to the Publ ic

He al th S erv ice o r the Chi ldren' s Bureau

would const i tu te an appropr ia te execut ive

agent of a federal sterilization statute.

Documents

Eugenical Sterilization in the USA