Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2009
Abstract
Laughlin crafted a special pedigree chart showing evidence presented at the Buck trial describing the "Most immediate Blood Kin of Carrie Buck, Showing illegitimacy and hereditary feeblemindedness." Laughlin declared that following Buck, the operation of eugenical sterilization would no longer be considered "a wild or radical proposition" but would be seen by most Americans as "a reasonable and conservative matter." Laughlin emphasized that the endorsement of state authority to perform compulsory operations without regard for the consent of the patient or his family was an "outstanding feature" of the Buck decision. It constituted an application of the scientific method to statecraft, and employed the "modern sciences" of law and eugenics.
Recommended Citation
Laughlin, Harry H., "The Legal Status of Eugenical Sterilization" (2009). Buck v Bell Documents. Paper 79.
http://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/buckvbell/79