Every January we rightly turn our attention to Roe v. Wade — the
poorly argued Supreme Court decision that was driven by ideology
rather than by actual case law. It was not the first unjustly
decided case that impacted tens of thousands of vulnerable
lives. In the early decades of the 20th century in the United
States, there were deeply held prejudices against the three
types of people: the poor, those with disabilities of all kinds,
and people of color. These prejudices, along with their social
and scientific acceptability, made up the fabric of what became
known as the eugenics movement. The argument went something like
this: if only we could prevent the births of ‘feeble-minded’
people, we could have perpetual prosperity in a society governed
by morally upright people. Prominent people in law, government,
media, business and the 'church' supported such efforts. State
laws were enacted across the country to forcibly sterilize
anyone considered unfit. When the Courts Said Okay It didn’t
work. By the early 19