Buck v. Bell
Posted by: turnersrugs
N 38° 02.202 W 078° 29.303
17S E 720420 N 4212864
Erected 2002 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number Q-28.)
Waymark Code: WMGNV7
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/25/2013
Views: 5
In 1924, Virginia, like a majority of states then, enacted eugenic sterilization laws. Virginia’s law allowed state institutions to operate on individuals to prevent the conception of what were believed to be “genetically inferior” children. Charlottesville native Carrie Buck (1906–1983), involuntarily committed to a state facility near Lynchburg, was chosen as the first person to be sterilized under the new law. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, on 2 May 1927, affirmed the Virginia law. After Buck more than 8,000 other Virginians were sterilized before the most relevant parts of the Act were repealed in 1974. Later evidence eventually showed that Buck and many others had no “hereditary defects.” She is buried south of here.
Marker Number: q-28
Marker Title: Buck v. Bell
Marker Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
County or Independent City: Charlottesville county
Web Site: Not listed
Marker Program Sponsor: Not listed
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