Executive Summary: The Case Of Buck V. Bell

Part 1 The US government has always been involved in regulating bodies, especially in reproduction, through slavery, eugenic sterilization, and population council sterilization. A prominent example is the case of Buck v. Bell. In the Buck case, the Virginia statute to sterilize inmates was supported by declaring that the State had the power under the 14th Amendment. The Court denied inmates of the Virginia State Colony the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. In the eugenics movement, Buck was considered a victory because it paved the way to “breed out” traits that were considered undesirable, like “mentally deficient” people (NPR). The purpose of eugenics was to improve the human race through better breeding and increase population growth. Carrie Buck was considered a “feeble-minded” woman and was admitted to the State Colony to ensure that her traits were not passed on. As a result, the government supported certain types of genes while devaluing traits similar to Carrie Buck. …show more content…
Another example of forced sterilization through the approval of state regulations is controlling African American populations in the southern states. In Mississippi, unnecessary hysterectomies were performed by teaching hospitals on women of color as a practice for medical students (Ko). In comparison to Buck v. Bell, the government controlled pregnancy to prevent “public health” or “overpopulation” problems by sorting people who are deemed undesirable due to traits such as race, color, sex, economic status, mental capacity, etc.

Part 2 Neoliberalism, advocating for individual rights and minimal government intervention, shapes the discourse around Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), where regulation is

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