Research the 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case of Buck v. Bell, which involved state-enforced eugenic sterilization for

people who were considered feebleminded or otherwise genetically inferior. Summarize the case, define the eugenic movement, and discuss its role in this case. Also, address

Oliver Wendell Holmes’s statement, “It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for

crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their

kind.”

Answer the following questions:

? What happened to eugenics, particularly enforced sterilization, in the years following the Supreme Court’s findings

in the Buck v. Bell case? What is the current legal status of enforced sterilization in the U.S.?

? Is the study of genetics, especially heredity, sufficiently predictable to justify using it to make decisions such as

those imposed on Carrie Buck? Should genetics be used as the basis for any type of legal decision? Support your

answers.