Genetic Policies/Treatments Flashcards
(12 cards)
What are genetic policies in the context of criminology?
Policies based on the belief that criminality or ‘undesirable traits’ can be eliminated through biological control such as sterilisation or selective breeding.
What is compulsory sterilisation?
A eugenic policy where individuals considered ‘genetically unfit’ (e.g. criminals, mentally ill) are sterilised to prevent them from reproducing.
Why did eugenicists support compulsory sterilisation?
They believed it would protect public health by preventing the spread of ‘undesirable’ traits.
When and where was compulsory sterilisation made legal in the US?
In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled forced sterilisation of the ‘unfit’ was legal; by the 1930s, over 30 states had such laws.
What conditions were targeted under U.S. sterilisation laws?
Blindness, deafness, addiction, mental illness, epilepsy, and alcoholism.
What other eugenic policies existed besides sterilisation?
Forced abortions, marriage restrictions, and institutionalisation of the ‘unfit’.
Who was Carrie Buck?
A woman sterilised in 1927 under Virginia law after being labelled ‘feebleminded’; her case legitimised U.S. sterilisation policies.
Why is the Carrie Buck case significant?
It symbolised how flawed and biased the justification for sterilisation was; her family was labelled without proper examination.
What were the Nazi ‘racial purity’ policies?
Extreme eugenics policies aimed at purifying the Aryan race by eliminating those deemed unfit.
What actions did Nazi eugenics include?
Sterilising 400,000 people, killing 70,000 under euthanasia programs, and genocide targeting millions in WWII.
What groups were targeted by Nazi racial policies?
Jews, Roma, the disabled, gay people, drug users, alcoholics, and the homeless.
How did eugenics influence Nazi genocide?
Eugenics justified eliminating ‘inferior’ populations, leading to the Holocaust and other mass killings.
