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The Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 was a U.S. state law in Virginia for the sterilization of institutionalized persons "afflicted with hereditary forms of insanity that are recurrent, idiocy, imbecility, feeble-mindedness or epilepsy”.[2] It greatly influenced the development of eugenics in the twentieth century. The act was based on model legislation written by Harry H. Laughlin and challenged by a case that led to the United States Supreme Court decision of Buck v. Bell.[3] The Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional and it became a model law for sterilization laws in other states. Justice Holmes wrote that a patient may be sterilized "on complying with the very careful provisions by which the act protects the patients from possible abuse."[4] Between 1924 and 1979, Virginia sterilized over 7,000 individuals under the act.[5] The act was never declared unconstitutional; however, in 2001, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution apologizing for the misuse of "a respectable, 'scientific' veneer to cover activities of those who held blatantly racist views."[6] In 2015, the Assembly agreed to compensate individuals sterilized under the act.
- ^ Phyllis Miller. "A Brief History of Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute" (PDF).
- ^ "Virginia Eugenics".
- ^ Nathalie Antonios (April 14, 2011). "Sterilization Act of 1924". The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. ISSN 1940-5030. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200, 206, 47 S. Ct. 584, 584, 71 L. Ed. 1000 (1927)
- ^ Lutz Kaelber. "Eugenics: Compulsory Sterilization in 50 American States". University of Vermont.
- ^ "House Joint Resolution No. 607 (2001 Session)". Virginia General Assembly. Retrieved May 15, 2015.