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The Lynchburg Story: Eugenic Sterilization In America
directed by Stephen Trombley; produced by Bruce Eadie (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1995, originally published 1993), 1 hour 2 mins
In the early years of this century, authorities were obsessed with a belief that the "racial stock" of the country was in decline. By the 1930's, over half the states had enacted eugenic sterilization laws, giving states the right to forcibly sterilize citizens they deemed "unfit" to reproduce. This haunting film...
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directed by Stephen Trombley; produced by Bruce Eadie (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1995, originally published 1993), 1 hour 2 mins
Description
In the early years of this century, authorities were obsessed with a belief that the "racial stock" of the country was in decline. By the 1930's, over half the states had enacted eugenic sterilization laws, giving states the right to forcibly sterilize citizens they deemed "unfit" to reproduce. This haunting film tells the story of what happened at The Lynchburg Colony for the Epileptic and Feebleminded in, Virginia. There, between 1927 and 1972,...
In the early years of this century, authorities were obsessed with a belief that the "racial stock" of the country was in decline. By the 1930's, over half the states had enacted eugenic sterilization laws, giving states the right to forcibly sterilize citizens they deemed "unfit" to reproduce. This haunting film tells the story of what happened at The Lynchburg Colony for the Epileptic and Feebleminded in, Virginia. There, between 1927 and 1972, over 8,000 children and young teenagers were forcibly sterilized. The state claimed they had hereditary defects that would be passed on to their potential offspring: in fact most were simply poor, ill-educated and considered a financial burden on the state. Sterilization victims interviewed today tell of the devastating impact on their lives.These individual tragedies have a broader political context. The sterilization law declared constitutional in the U.S. in 1927 became the basis of Hitler's eugenics program. It was the beginning of the Holocaust as sterilization gave way to killing undesirables. American biologist, Dr. Harry Laughlin, who drafted the legislation, was awarded an honorary doctorate in Germany in 1936. Goebbels was the guest of honor. College Adult
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Field of Study
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Bruce Eadie
Author / Creator
Stephen Trombley
Date Published / Released
1993, 1995
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Person Discussed
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1809-1894, Adolf Hitler, 1889-1945, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 1841-1935
Topic / Theme
Ethics, Eugenics, Intelligence, Laws and legislation, Medical malpractice, Medical treatments and procedures, Intellectual disabilities, Trials and litigation, Buck v. Bell, Supreme Court Decision, U.S., 1927, American History, Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1993 by Worldview Pictures. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
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