Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Eugenics movements and their influence in Canada (Germany (WHO ((''…
Eugenics movements and their influence in Canada
Canada
reasons
were put in place based on the assumption that people with unfavorable characteristics were a nuisance to society, and that they should therefore the number of them should be limited.
they also believed that many of these "defects" were hereditary (intellectual disability, mental illness, alcoholism, poverty, criminality), therefore they limited their reproduction
also believed that people with disabilities were a danger to society
improving the human population through controlled breeding
negative eugenics and positive eugenics(desirable genes vs. non desirable genes)
negative eugenics were enforced by limiting the capacity and opportunity for procreation, including sexual sterilization, marriage prohibition, segregation and institutionalization
was supported by many canadians in the early 20th century
Although are considered a thing of the past, eugenics still exists today
What happened
Some other groups opposed these legislations including the Roman Catholic Church
Tommy Douglas, originally a supporter who recommended several eugenics policies including "sterilization of “mental defectives and those incurably diseased", opposed these laws when he became premier of Saskatchewan in 1944. He instead adopted the idea of therapy for people with disabilities
these movements gained much support from various groups including some socialists, feminists, farmers and psychiatrists and other doctors :(irony)
also removed other "inferior" communities (indigenous, asian canadian)
Sexual Sterilization acts were passed in Alberts(1928 - 72), and in British Colombia(1933 - 73)
Alberta - This legislation created a Eugenics Board that could authorize the sexual sterilization of inmates of mental hospitals who had been proposed for release, if the Board determined that there was a risk that they could transmit “disability” to their children. Over 2,800 people were sterilized under this legislation.
In Alberta, at first, there needed to be consent to sterilize a woman, however in 1937, they revoked this requirement for those who were considered "feebleminded", which set the Alberta's law apart from others in North America.
BC act was similar, but was applied les often - between 200 and 400 people were sterilized
some other provinces included Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan considered implementing similar acts, but due to resistance, were rejected.
In Nova Scotia, women were not legally sterilized, but instead institutionalized if they were considered unfit for motherhood, especially if they had given birth to "illegitimate children"
However,some forms of positive eugenics were put in place, were families were rewarded for children
these acts were not removed until 1970s
"Individuals were assessed using IQ tests like the Stanford-Binet. This posed a problem to new immigrants arriving in Canada, as many had not mastered the English language, and often their scores denoted them as having impaired intellectual functioning. As a result, many of those sterilized under the Sexual Sterilization Act were immigrants who were unfairly categorized."
History of eugenics wikipedia
why should we care
These people who suffered ableism are vital t our society
education
immoral to take away human rights, especially in a placec that is known for its freedoms
superiority
reminder of past mistakes to not repeat
Eugenics today
Indigenous people are still being targeted by eugenics
In Alberta, by 1972, FNM represented 25% of those sterilized
yet even since the removal of these laws, indigenous women are still being coerced into sterilization --> some being pressured into signing consent forms for tubal ligation while in labour or on the operating table
about 1200 indigenous women were sterilized in the 1970 alone, and about half of them were at "Indian Hospitals" operated by the federal government between 1971 and 1974
"In July 2017, a report titled 'Tubal Ligation in the Saskatoon Health Region: The Lived Experience of Aboriginal Women,' revealed that some Indigenous women in the Saskatoon area had been pressured into sexual sterilization"
"In November 2018, Amnesty International brought the issue to the United Nations Committee Against Torture. The following month, the UN committee made two recommendations: that all allegations of forced or coerced sterilization be impartially investigated, and that concrete measures be taken to prevent and criminalize involuntary sterilization."
"In 2004, for example, professor Tanis Doe of the University of Victoria argued that prenatal testing of fetuses is akin to Nazi-style eugenics, a purging of the disabled from society. According to Doe, there is a widespread acceptance among Western societies that disabled fetuses should not be brought to term, with many parents choosing to abort fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome"
raises questions about scientific ethics, human rights, and disability :
US
What happened
In 1903, the American Breeder’s Association was created to study eugenics
The first event in American history of eugenics through a marriage law In 1896 in Connecticut made it illegal for people with epilepsy to marry someone
The foundation hosted national conferences on eugenics in 1914, 1915 and 1928
It was a dark time in America during 1909-1979 because there were over 20 000 sterilizations in California
In 1927, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that forced sterilization of the handicapped does not violate the U.S constitution
In 1942, the ruling was overturned, but it was too late after thousands of people were sterilized
In 1927 the governor of Puerto Rico implemented sterilization programs for Puerto Rican women to prevent poverty and economic strife
According to a 1976 Government Accountability Office investigation, between 25 and 50 percent of Native Americans were sterilized between 1970 and 1976
Why/Reasons
Charles Darwin hoped that a better humankind was through the propagation of the British elite
John Harvey Kellog organized race that was thought to better and improved
Citizens, Scientist supported the cause of established Eugenics office records
How
The office tracked families and their genetic, claiming most people considered unfit were immigrants, minorities or poor
Many sterilization were forced and performed on minorities
The Eugenics Record Office maintained that there was no clear evidence that supposed of negative family traits were caused by bad genes but not racism
There were mental institutions that would put away people with mental disability so there wasn’t an offspring of people with mental illness
Germany
WHO
→ Led by Phillip Bouhler, director of Hitler’s private channecellory''
''August 18 1939 ministry had advised all nurses, physician, etc, to report all newborn infants or children under the age of 3 who showed any signs of severe mental or physical disabilities.''
''In the beginning these health wards only admitted toddlers and infants. Soon after the program widened = began accepting children up to 17 years old.''
August 1942, killings started again, but with more discretion
Killings = drug overdoes, lethal injections
This program was suggested upon the work capacity of all medical patients. The categories were
Not german blood
Dementia, epilepsy, and other chronic diseases
criminally insane
committed to clinics for more than 5 years.
70,243 mentally and physically disabled people were killed in the 6 installations between 1940, and 1941
250,000 deaths
WHAT
October, 1939, public health authorities began asking parents to send their disabled children to specific health clinics all around Germany and Austria. These clinics were really killing wards. All the staff would kill the children by starvation or overdose of medication
autumn of 1939 T4 planners began to distribute carefully formulated questionnaires to all public health officials, public and private hospitals, mental institutions, and nursing homes for the chronically ill and aged.
WHERE
Established six gassing installations for adults during euthanasia: “Grafeneck, in southwestern Germany
Bernburg, in Saxony
Sonnenstein, also in Saxony
Hartheim, near Linz on the Danube in Austria
Hadamar, in Hessen”
In some locations = Poland, West Russia: SS and police units continued to murder about 30,000 more patients by fall 1941
WHEN
''Summer and Spring, 1939, killings of disabled children were planned ''
70,243 mentally and physically disabled people were killed in the 6 installations between 1940, and 1941
August 1942, killings started again, but with more discretion
Killings = drug overdoes, lethal injections
Euthanasia lasted until end of wwII
HOW
Patients who were admitted to the clinics of “ethanasia” program were taken to the gas installations for killings by bus or rail
After arriving to the installations, patients were taken into gas chambersThese chambers were said to be “showers”. Instead they were filled with carbon monoxide
Their ashes were send to the families of victims along with certificates advising false deaths
In some locations = Poland, West Russia: SS and police units continued to murder about 30,000 more patients by fall 1941
Murders occured as mass shootings and/or gas vans
UK
Influential People
Winston Churchill
UK Prime Minister(1940 - 1945, 1951 - 1955)
Nobel prize for Literature - 1953
Eugenicist
Believed the feeble-minded were being born at too high rates, compared to those who were “superior” → put British race in danger, measures need to be taken
Solve race deterioration, reduce crime, reduce poverty
Charles Darwin
Geologist and naturalist
Theories are often used to justify eugenics
“The theory of evolution is that organisms have a common ancestor, and over many generations, small genetic variations led to the differentiation of new species. Organisms who could survive and reproduce under environmental pressures would have their genes passed on. According to Darwin, the process of natural selection - when organisms that were better adapted to the environment survived and passed their genes on to future generations - was the driving force for evolution.”
Published The Origin of Species
Natural-selection → if a organism had genes that make better to reproduce and survive, these genes would become more frequent
“claims were being made that the “higher” classes of society - the wealthy and successful - were being outbred by the so-called unfit. Taken with Darwin’s theory of evolution, this idea created public alarm and a sense of desperation”
Darwin himself commented that natural selection was not working the way it was supposed to with humans
“The segregation, sterilisation, and murder of various groups was justified by some as being done for the greater good of evolution - those groups were considered to be ‘less fit’, and by preventing their reproduction, advocates argued that the human race would improve and evolve into a better species”
Sir francis Galton
English mathematician, psychometrist, inventor, meteorologist, geneticist, and eugenicist
invented the word eugenics in 1883
is considered to be the father of eugenics
came from a "prominent, intellectually-driven family"
Charles Darwin cousin
degree in mathematics
after Darwin published Origin of Species, made it his life purpose to improve the human race
generated new interest on eugenics(first visited in ancient greece, over 2000 years ago)
thought that traits like intelligence and talent were inherited
did research on the subject, and used the data collected to release the book Hereditary Genius.
argued that intelligence, accomplishment and other traits were inherited and that these skills would develop regardless of the environment that they were in.
thought that it could lead to a perfect happy race
"He believed that the key to a Utopian society was a eugenic religion, and Galton dedicated his life to eugenics."
Legislations and Documents
British Parliament passes the Mental Deficiency Act
1913 → replaces 1886 Idiot Act Allowed doctors to institutionalise people considered mentally deficient without consent of person or family
Adds two new categories of mental defectiveness to the previous 2
“1) Idiots: those so deeply defective as to be unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers.
2) Imbeciles: those whose defectiveness does not amount to idiocy, but it nonetheless so pronounced that they are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs, or, in the case of children, of being taught to do so.
3) Feeble-minded persons: those whose weakness does not amount to imbecility, but who yet require care, supervision, or control, for their protection or for the protection of others, or, in the case of children, are incapable of receiving benefit from the instruction in ordinary school
4) Moral imbeciles: those who display mental weakness coupled with strong vicious or criminal propensities, and on whom punishment has little or no deterrent effect.”
65000 individuals institutionalized at its peak
Was in effect until 1959
British Parliament passes “Mental Health Act”
British Parliament passes “Mental Health Act”
July 29, 1959
All other acts about mental health were repealed
Treatment voluntary and informal
Clearly define scenarios where forced treatment is required and to make it legal
Reduce institutions and allow the community to care for the ill “broad category ‘mental disorder,’ which it defined as ‘mental illness; arrest or incomplete development of mind; psychopathic disorder; and any other disorder or disability of the mind.’”
Compulsory admission → 2 doctors, one of which have psychiatric experience, and the application needed to be made by a family member(welfare officer if family not available, but had to at least contact family)
Limited to 28 → enough to reach conclusion, or allow patient to recover
Also set up medical review tribunals --> at least one medical and one legal member → if patient thought they had been incorrectly given forced treatment, could appeal for discharge
British Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded issues report
1908
Recommends compulsory institutionalisation of the “feeble-minded”, and sterilisation of the “unfit” → goal to improve British Population
Established in 1904 by Winston Churchill
Created because of the concern of the “threat” that the “feeble-minded” posed
however , were never sterilisation laws, but institutionalisation and segregation were used to present “Multiplication of the unfit”
What happened
In recent years, Britain and America have been some of the leaders in providing rights to disabled people
“However, there is a dark side to the history of the two partners in the “special relationship” that has quietly been forgotten and swept under the carpet. It is a history that is deeply uncomfortable, disturbing and shameful and which seems to contradict the values America and Britain claim to uphold”
1859 → Charles Darwin published Origin of Species
w/ this in mind, scientists and politicians started exploring the idea of “survival of the fittest”, and started to question why people should take care of the weak, as they began believing that they should not let people who were “not supposed to survive” live and reproduce.
these views took particularly strongly in Britain and America
existence of disabled people seen as a threat to social development
“ Darwin himself wrote in his 1871 treatise, The Descent of Man, ‘We civilised men.... do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed and the sick.. .Thus the weak members of society propagate their kind.’”
A British man first thought of the term eugenics → Francis Galton(Charles Darwin cousin)
“Galton was convinced a person's mental and physical abilities, like the plant and animal traits described by Darwin, were essentially inherited from one's parents. He grew concerned that eminent British people were marrying late and having too few children. Galton wrote in his 1869 book Hereditary Genius: ‘Let us do what we can to encourage the multiplication of the races best fitted to invent, and conform to, a high and generous civilisation, and not, out of mistaken instinct of giving support to the weak, prevent the incoming of strong and hearty individuals.’”
end of 19th century → eugenicists more influential in politics
“A Royal Commission on the Blind, Deaf and Dumb concluded in 1889 that intermarriage between these groups was to be strongly discouraged”
1896 → National Association for the Care and Control of the Feeble Minded → lifetime segregation of disables people
“1907, the Eugenics Education Society was founded in Britain to campaign for sterilisation and marriage restrictions for the weak to prevent the degeneration of Britain’s population”
1908 → James Crichton Brown → recommended compulsory sterilisation of people with learning disabilities and mental illnesses → described as ‘our social rubbish’ which should be ‘swept up and garnered and utilised as far as possible’
“ He went on to complain, ‘We pay much attention to the breeding of our horses, our cattle, our dogs and poultry, even our flowers and vegetables; surely it’s not too much to ask that a little care be bestowed upon the breeding and rearing of our race’.”
“In a memo to the prime minister in 1910, Winston Churchill cautioned, ‘The multiplication of the feeble-minded is a very terrible danger to the race.’”
1912 → international Eugenics Conference, organised by the British Eugenics Education Society
At conference, major Leonard Darwin(son of Charles Darwin) presented the idea of establishing squads of scientists to travel the country, and find the “unfit”, then to segregate them to special colonies, or sterilize them.
The British Eugenics society reached its peak in the 1930s
“ A bill for the compulsory sterilisation of certain categories of ‘mental patient’ was proposed in Parliament in 1931 by Labour MP Archibald Church. He claimed it was necessary to stop the reproduction of those ‘who are in every way a burden to their parents, a misery to themselves and in my opinion a menace to the social life of the community’”
continued well into 1940s
even in 1985, an MP wanted to to abort a “handicapped” foetus could save the country £1 million over the course of a lifetime.