The Roots of Racism and Abortion by John Cavanaugh-O'Keefe

The Roots of Racism and Abortion by John Cavanaugh-O

But it reminded me that the eugenics movement of the recent past (or maybe not so recent, since I can still recall Professor Earnest Hooton’s lecture to my class some 70 years ago) is still around and thriving. It was a humbling experience to read about Harvard’s love affair with eugenics. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she said something like, “You are going to make me hurt,” but she did not object. I explained as best I could, including what would happen in surgery and how she would feel post-op.

She was living in some sort of a state institution and did not understand why she had been brought to the hospital. She spoke well but, according to the paperwork, had been declared feebleminded and promiscuous.

She was a healthy Anglo in her late teens, very much the girl-next-door. The buck stopped with me, the bottom of the staff totem pole, so I did the admitting history and physical. My strong protests were squelched by the administration. The “era” was not just at Harvard but really encompasses the United States generally and ought to be required reading for American history, lest we forget.Īdam Cohen’s article stimulated me to run a quick check on the Oregon State Board of Eugenics, which ordered more than 2,600 involuntary sterilizations from 1917 to 1981.Īs a lowly intern rotating on the gynecology service at the University of Oregon Hospital in 1961, I was handed a formal court order to perform an involuntary sterilization on a woman. I commend the excellent article “ Harvard’s Eugenics Era” (by Adam Cohen, March-April, page 48).

The Roots of Racism and Abortion by John Cavanaugh-O'Keefe