"Buck vs. Bell"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Lee M. Silver's "Remaking Eden" and Dr. Leon R. Kass' "Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity" provide differing perspectives on the applicability of the case of "Buck vs. Bell" to today's society. It explains how, in "Buck vs. Bell", eugenics and Social Darwinism spurred a Supreme Court decision that allowed forced sterilization. The writer explains that, in "Remaking Eden," the perspective of Silver effectively argues that the case of "Buck vs. Bell" is not at all applicable to genetic issues today. It discusses how Silver's optimistic stance on genetic engineering seems to indicate that human inventiveness and ingenuity will allow humans to successfully use genetic technologies to improve the world. In contrast, Kass' perspective suggests that the case of "Buck vs. Bell" is highly applicable to genetic issues today.

From the Paper:

"There is more to the case of Buck vs. Bell than the simple misunderstanding of genetic principles, however. The sterilization of Carrie Buck and others like her was guided by society's belief that those who were deficient or inferior should not be allowed to reproduce in order to improve the human species. In Carrie Buck's case, it seems that "feeblemindedness" was the justification for her sterilization, but that other factors may have been at play. Carrie was young and presumably unmarried, and thus likely violated many social norms. Here, we see that Carrie's forced sterilization was driven by a number of factors, including a misunderstanding of genetics, her lack of adherence to social 'norms,' and the desire to improve the human species through eugenics and Social Darwinism."

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