Paul A. Lombardo, "Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2022)
\u201cThree generations of imbeciles are enough\u201d were the infamous words U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote in 1927. In\xa0Buck v. Bell, an almost unanimous Court upheld a Virginia law allowing the sterilization of people the state found to be \u201csocially inadequate\u201d and \u201cfeebleminded.\u201d This landmark decision allowed the eugenics movement to take full effect, with multiple states passing similar laws.\xa0\nIn\xa0Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell\xa0(Johns Hopkins UP, 2022), Dr. Paul Lombardo unpacks the case of an individual \u2013 Carrie Buck \u2013 to argue that the case not only represents the collective power of the eugenics movement in the early 20th century but an individual miscarriage of justice. Using extensive archival sources, Dr. Lombardo demonstrates that Carrie Buck was neither a \u201cmoral degenerate\u201d or \u201cfeeble-minded.\u201d She was a rape victim of sound mind. Her sterilization was based on fraudulent evidence. The powerful eugenics lobby manufactured a case \u2013 and a sympathetic court gave them a precedent that justified Carrie Buck\u2019s sterilization \u2013 and over 60,000 sterilizations in the following decades.\nThree Generations, No Imbeciles\xa0frames the history of sterilization as essential to understanding contemporary legal fights over birth control and abortion. Does the constitution\u2019s promise of \u201cliberty\u201d include the right to become pregnant or end a pregnancy? Dr. Lombardo\u2019s epilogue and afterward outlines the connections between\xa0Buck\xa0and modern cases involving abortion, disability rights, and reparations for those sterilized. Originally published in 2008, the book has been updated in 2022 with a terrific epilogue and afterward with an eye towards contemporary events in reproductive politics.\nDr. Paul A. Lombardo\xa0is Regents\u2019 Professor and Bobby Lee Cook Professor of Law at the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University. He has published extensively on topics in health law, medico-legal history, and bioethics and is best known for his work on the legal history of the American eugenics movement. His\xa0website\xa0houses the\xa0images\xa0and all documents discussed in the podcast including the\xa0petition for rehearing\xa0created by the National Council of Catholic Men.\nDaniela Campos served as the editorial assistant for this podcast.\nSusan Liebell\xa0is Dirk Warren '50 Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law