Buck v. Bell

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Buck v. Bell
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Syllabus
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Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), was the United States Supreme Court ruling that upheld a statute instituting compulsory sterilization of the unfit, including the mentally retarded, "for the protection and health of the state." It was largely seen as an endorsement of negative eugenics—the attempt to improve the human race by eliminating "defectives" from the gene pool.

875566Buck v. Bell — SyllabusOliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

United States Supreme Court

274 U.S. 200

Buck  v.  Bell

 Argued: April 22, 1927. --- Decided: May 2, 1927

Mr. I. P. Whitehead, of Lynchburg, Va., for plaintiff in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 201-202 intentionally omitted]

Mr. A. E. Strode, of Lynchburg, Va., for defendant in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 203-205 intentionally omitted]

Mr. Justice HOLMES delivered the opinion of the Court.

Notes

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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

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