Don't relapse into eugenics

In the early part of the 20th century, some people developed the notion that they could improve society by preventing undesirable people from reproducing. They called their idea eugenics, which means the good gene.

The concept was widely adopted by the elite of American society. They would sterilize undesirable people so that those people could not reproduce. The idea won favor with U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. It was endorsed by various members of the American Academy of Medicine and the American Bar Association. Eugenics was taught at 376 American colleges and universities. Some religious groups supported eugenics, although the Catholic Church opposed the eugenic movement.

The U.S. Supreme Court held in the 1927 case Buck v. Bell that forced sterilization is constitutional. It was an 8-to-1 decision. The decision has never been overturned and has been cited in the 21st century by a federal court.

The eugenics movement was driven by good intentions and ignorance. It would be several decades before scientists gained a useful knowledge of genetics. Eugenics quickly evolved into a political movement that was unrelated to science.

There were differences of opinion about who should not be allowed to reproduce, but all of the following categories were on someone’s list: low intelligence, insanity, epilepsy, tuberculosis, syphilis, leprosy, dyslexia, schizophrenia, criminals, crippled or deformed, deaf, blind, orphans, feminists, rebellious children, prostitutes, alcoholics, and paupers. Race was also at the forefront of the eugenics movement of a century ago as was anti-immigrant sentiment.

Sixty thousand Americans were involuntarily sterilized.

Adolph Hitler’s Nazi regime was intrigued with American eugenics. They sterilized 375,000 people before they decided that shooting them and exterminating them in gas chambers was more efficient. During the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, one defendant cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision Buck v. Bell in his defense.

The 21st century revival of political eugenics in the United States is not aimed at extermination of people as was practiced by Nazi Germany or sterilization of people as previously practiced in the United States, although 31 states retain forced sterilization laws. Today, political eugenics in the U.S. aims to stigmatize segments of society. The categories are, especially, Black citizens and those citizens whose sexual preferences can be stigmatized — citizens that some people believe are undesirable — the same reason for the eugenics of a century ago. If allowed to fester, the list may grow as it did in the previous century.

Ronald DeSantis, governor of Florida, and his cooperative legislature have recently established laws that intimidate and threaten teachers or school systems that teach America’s racial history or address sexual reality. Successful leaders of great countries unite their citizens. They do not divide their citizens with wedge issues.

Eliminating the influence of teachers is a Communist tactic that was employed by Communist insurgent organizations attempting to overthrow governments during the 20th century.

Florida isn’t the only state ostracizing special categories of people. Some states are flooded with bills that govern the way teachers and school systems may address race and sexuality. Some legislators propose vigilante enforcement that allows any citizen to sue teachers or schools if the person initiating the lawsuit doesn’t like what is being discussed in the classroom. The purpose is to intimidate teachers, and it is a form of censorship.

If we are a great nation, we will not repeat the political eugenics of a century ago. We need to reject discriminatory legislation and the legislators who promote it.

Jack Stevenson is a retired infantry officer, civil service and private corporation employee who now reads history, follows issues important to Americans, and writes commentary from his home in Pensacola, Florida.