Inclusion Daily Express -- Virginia's Eugenics Legacy

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Virginia's Eugenics Legacy

"Today, I offer the Commonwealth's sincere apology for Virginia's participation in eugenics."
--Statement from Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner May 2, 2002, making Virginia the first state to apologize for its participation in the eugenics movement

From the Ragged Edge Magazine:
"The Eugenics Apologies" by Dave Reynolds

2002
May 6: Virginia Governor Apologizes For Eugenics
January 28: Virginia Honors One It Had Abused
2001
November 13: "Regret" Is Not Enough For Forced Sterilizations
June 15: Candidates Support Apology For Sterilizations
February 16: State Refuses To Apologize For Sterilizations
February 5: State House Comes Close To Apology For Sterilizations
2000
March 30: Advocates For Disabled Worry About Repeat Of Eugenics

RELATED RESOURCES:
Oregonians Get Apology For Sterilizations
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/institutions/ore/oreugenics.htm

For information on the American Eugenics Movement, and the mandatory sterilization laws, visit the historical archives hosted by the DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Click on the essay entitled "Sterilization Laws":
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/
Eugenics Watch
http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/endx.htm

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Advocates For Disabled Worry About Repeat Of Eugenics
March 30, 2000

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--In 1933, Adolph Hitler put into place his Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, under which two million people were later forcibly sterilized. Where did he get the idea for such a plan? You need look no further than the Commonwealth of Virginia, where state law allowed, and at times mandated, the sterilization of 7,500 of its citizens between 1915 and 1979.

Thirty states had mandatory sterilization laws on their books for most of the first half of the twentieth century. Over 60,000 people, mostly people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, are documented to have undergone the procedure as part of the popular American Eugenics Movement, whose followers believed that most of society's problems could be blamed on "poor breeding".

Advocates for people with disabilities are supporting a bill that would take the department that is responsible for protection and advocacy and make it an agency independent of the government. They feel that this will help keep government-endorsed actions, such as the eugenics laws, from happening in the future. The General Assembly recently voted overwhelmingly in support of the measure. Governor Jim Gilmore opposes it.

Advocates now are urging lawmakers to overturn a possible veto by the governor.

For more details take a look at this article from today's Virginia Pilot Online:
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0329eug.html (EXPIRED)

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State House Comes Close To Apology For Sterilizations
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
February 5, 2001

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Without coming right out and apologizing, the Virginia House of Delegates on Friday passed a proclamation expressing "regret" for the forced sterilization of thousands of Virginians with disabilities during much of the last century.

"It's the right thing to do," said Speaker S. Vance Wilkins Jr., before the vote.

The proclamation was originally written to be a formal apology, but some lawmakers, nervous that an apology would open the state up to expensive lawsuits, pushed to have it changed to an "expression of regret". It is the closest any state has come to acknowledging these atrocities it inflicted on its citizens with disabilities.

The Virginia Senate has yet to meet to vote on the measure.

During the 1920s, the number of people with disabilities being sent to institutions grew at rapid rate. The cost of caring for people in those institutions also increased rapidly. Tax-payers became upset about having to pay so much to institutionalize people.

One solution: Operate on the people in the institutions so they will not be able to have children who, many believed at the time, would likely have children with disabilities, who would be institutionalized at tax-payer expense, and so on. In 1924, the Virginia General Assembly adopted a Eugenical Sterilization Act as a way to "relieve the financial burden" on tax-payers. The law was also designed to protect doctors so they could not be sued for malpractice.

That sterilization law opened the door to an estimated 8,300 people being routinely sterilized in Virginia between 1924 and 1979. It was based on a model law written by Harry Laughlin, a leader in what was called the American Eugenics Movement. Eugenics was established on what was a popular belief at the time, that society in general, and the "white race" in particular, could be "purified" through selective breeding. It is known that Adolph Hitler used the same model law to justify "purifying" his "master race" by ordering sterilizations of thousands of people deemed "socially defective", many -- but not all -- with disabilities.

During the height of the American Eugenics Movement, 30 of the United States, two Canadian Provinces, and a large number of other nations had sterilization laws on the books. In the United States alone, over 60,000 men, women and children are documented to have been sterilized against their will. Most lived in institutions housing people with developmental disabilities. It is not known how many sterilizations were not documented.

Here are more resources on eugenics:
Resources on this web page from Marmoset Media suggests that eugenics is as strong as it has ever been, but now exists in the form of genetics screening and selective abortion:
http://www.marmoset.com/60minute/Webnav/eugen.html

For information on the American Eugenics Movement, and specifically Virginia's Eugenics laws, visit the historical archives hosted by the DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Click on the essay entitled "Sterilization Laws":
http://vector.cshl.org/eugenics

Nearly half of those Virginians who were involuntarily sterilized lived at what was called the "State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded". This was the name given to the institution now known as Central Virginia Training Center (which was featured in a story last Friday). Doctors at CVTC officially sterilized thousands of people between 1927 and 1956, although it is suggested that the practice continued there through 1972.

CVTC is still the largest institution in Virginia, housing 650 people with mental retardation. Forced sterilizations at the facility are mentioned briefly on the "History" page of the CVTC website:
http://www.cvtc.state.va.us

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State Refuses To Apologize For Sterilizations
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
February 15, 2001

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--In 1933, Adolph Hitler put into place his Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, under which two million people were later forcibly sterilized.

Where did he get the idea for such a plan?

You need look no further than the Commonwealth of Virginia, where state law allowed -- and at times mandated -- the sterilization of more than 7,400 of its citizens between 1924 and 1979.

Thirty states and two Canadian provinces had mandatory sterilization laws on their books for much of the twentieth century. Over 66,000 people, most considered at the time to have developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, are documented to have undergone the surgical procedure as a result of the popular American Eugenics Movement, whose followers believed that most of society's problems could be blamed on "poor breeding".

The idea of forced sterilization lost popularity after Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust were revealed. The American Eugenics movement also lost steam when it was discovered that much of the research they used to back up their discriminatory attitudes was faulty. It turned out that much of the foundation supporting American Eugenics was laid by a group of wealthy white racists.

Most mandatory sterilization laws were repealed during the 1960s and 1970s (some are still on the books, however). Since then, people across the U.S. who cannot have children because they were forcibly -- and legally -- sterilized without their permission, have asked their state governments to formally recognize the mistakes that were made. Some have also asked for a statement of apology. Some have sued wanting financial compensation for the loss of their right and ability to bear children.

On Wednesday, the Virginia General Assembly voted to pass a resolution expressing "profound regret" for its eugenics laws. By the time it reached the floor for a vote, lawmakers had already deliberately removed a statement of apology.

While the statement of "regret" at least recognizes eugenics' dark history, an apology would have been important not only to those sterilized in Virginia, but also to the thousands of others who were sterilized under other state laws modeled after Virginia's law.

Here is an Associated Press story on the resolution and the reaction:
http://www.foxnews.com/national/021501/forced_sterile.sml

Last March, ABC's 20/20 aired a feature on Fred Aslin, a veteran of the Korean War who wants an apology from the state of Michigan for forcibly sterilizing him when he was a teenager:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000322_eugenics_feature.html

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Candidates Support Apology For Sterilizations
June 15, 2001

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Both leading nominees for governor of Virginia have indicated that they are in favor of giving an official apology to the approximately 8,000 citizens who were involuntarily sterilized by the state during the last century.

According to a story from Friday's Richmond Times-Dispatch, the campaign of Mark L. Earley said the Republican "thinks an apology is certainly appropriate".

A spokesperson for Mark R. Warner says the Democratic hopeful "has been clear in his position that the state should offer a formal apology. The eugenics movement was a terrible time in our history, and it is shameful that the state government was ever involved."

The Times Dispatch article is available here:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGBWSI58ZNC.html (EXPIRED)

For nearly one half of the 20th century, Virginia led the country in sterilizing people for the sake of what is known as "eugenics", the idea that a race can be "purified" by eliminating people who were considered "unfit". Thousands of the operations were done inside an institution that was called the "Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded".

That facility is still in operation as the Central Virginia Training Center (CVTC), and houses 650 people with mental retardation. CVTC has a website with an interesting history of the facility:
http://www.cvtc.state.va.us

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"Regret" Is Not Enough For Forced Sterilizations
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 13, 2001

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA--In 1933, Adolph Hitler put into place his Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, under which two million people in Europe would be forced to go through surgery that made it impossible for them to have children.

Where did he get the idea for such a plan? He needed look no further than the Commonwealth of Virginia, where state eugenics laws allowed -- and at times required -- the forced sterilization of 8,300 of its citizens between 1915 and 1979.

Eugenics was established on what was a popular belief at the time, that society in general, and the "white race" in particular, could be "purified" through selective breeding. During the height of the popular American Eugenics Movement, 30 of the United States, two Canadian Provinces, and a large number of other nations had sterilization laws on the books. Over 60,000 Americans, mostly people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, are documented to have undergone the procedure.

This spring, the Virginia General Assembly passed a proclamation expressing "regret" for the forced sterilization of thousands of its citizens with disabilities. Even though this was the closest any state has come to admitting the atrocities it inflicted on its citizens, many of those who were the targets of Virginia's sterilization campaign feel the state not only needs to apologize, but also should compensate them for their loss.

Sunday's St. Petersburg (Florida) Times ran this story:
http://www.sptimes.com/News/111101/Worldandnation/Human_weeds.shtml

Nearly half of the Virginians who were involuntarily sterilized lived at what was called the "State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded". This was the name given to the institution now known as Central Virginia Training Center. Doctors at CVTC officially sterilized thousands of people between 1927 and 1956, although it is suggested that the practice continued there through 1979.

CVTC is still the largest institution in Virginia, housing 625 people with mental retardation. Forced sterilizations at the facility are mentioned briefly on the "History" page of the CVTC website:
http://www.cvtc.state.va.us

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Virginia Honors One It Had Abused
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 28, 2002

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Between 1924 and 1979, nearly 8,000 Virginia residents were legally sterilized by the state as part of the eugenics movement.

Last Friday, the Virginia House of Delegates honored one of those who went on to become a war hero.

As a young teenager, the state had labeled Raymond W. Hudlow a "mental defective", and placed him in the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, which is now known as the Central Virginia Training Center. While Hudlow was there, he was the state had him surgically sterilized.

"They treated us just like hogs, like we had no feelings," Hudlow said last year of his experience at the institution. Hudlow is now 76.

In the early 1940s, Hudlow was released from the institution and was drafted into the Army to serve in World War II. Hudlow served as the radioman for his platoon leader, was wounded and spent seven months in German prison camps. His nation honored him as a war hero, awarding him the Bronze Star for valor, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal for his service.

On January 17, the state Senate voted to recognize his service, and the House of Delegates followed suit last week.

For nearly one half of the 20th century, Virginia led the country in sterilizing people for the sake of eugenics, the idea that a race can be "purified" by eliminating people who were considered "unfit".

One year ago, the both houses passes resolutions comdemning the use of eugenics, but only after removing language from the measure apologizing for the movement.

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Virginia Governor Apologizes For Eugenics
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 6, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA -- Last Thursday, Virginia became the first state to officially apologize for sterilizing thousands of people with disabilities during the last century.

This may be particularly fitting, because the Commonwealth of Virginia designed the law that other states -- and other countries -- used as a model during the American Eugenics movement. Eugenics attempted to cure all of society's problems by reducing the number of people with disabilities and other differences through sterilization. The movement, which began in the early part of the century, was later discredited, but not before over 60,000 Americans had been forced to undergo surgery to make them sterile. Nearly 8,000 of those were housed in Virginia's institutions.

Historians have suggested that Adolph Hitler used Virginia's law as a model for forcibly sterilizing thousands of people with disabilities during the Nazi era.

Governor Mark R. Warner submitted the statement in which he apologized for the commonwealth's participation in the eugenics movement.

Warner's statement was timed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Buck v. Bell decision, which made sterilizations legal across the nation.

Here are excerpts from Warner's statement:
"In 1924, Virginia, like many states, passed a law permitting involuntary sterilization. In 1927, Carrie Buck was the first person sterilized by the Commonwealth pursuant to that law. Virginia's actions were upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States, and the government ultimately sterilized approximately 8,000 people."

"Last year, the General Assembly passed a resolution expressing profound regret for the Commonwealth's role in the eugenics movement. Today, I offer the Commonwealth's sincere apology for Virginia's participation in eugenics. As I have previously noted, the eugenics movement was a shameful effort in which state government never should have been involved."

"We must remember the Commonwealth's past mistakes in order to prevent them from recurring."

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