Reinventing Eugenics: Reproductive Choice and Law Reform After World War II
Reinventing Eugenics: Reproductive Choice and Law Reform After World War II
Mary Ziegler, 14 Cardozo J.L. & Gender 319 (2008)
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Thus, it is not the case that eugenics was no longer a significant influence on American reproductive law after World War II. Rather, pro-eugenic organizations adapted to the new political climate that emerged after 1945. Instead of defending the merits of state coercion in reproductive matters, pro-eugenic organizations themselves now sought to define reproductive choice.
By studying the introduction and failure of expanded compulsory sterilization laws in the 1950s and 1960s, Part I examines the political rejection of governmental coercion in reproductive matters. Part II studies the alternative strategies adopted by two of the most influential post-war pro-eugenic organizations, Human Betterment and the Population Council. By evaluating the workings of a post-war compulsory sterilization statute, Part III demonstrates the effects of the new political emphasis on reproductive choice on existing laws. Part IV is a brief conclusion.