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Sunday, October 31, 2021

Public Health Requires It!

I was reading the Supreme Court decision Buck v. Bell (1927) and I found the infamous quote from the great progressive, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.  It includes this interesting explanation of from where the authority for mandatory sterilization comes;
"The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11. Three generations of imbeciles are enough."
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2 comments:

  1. Windy WilsonNovember 1, 2021 at 9:04 AM

    And THAT part of the decision has never been overturned, has it?
    When it comes to overturning old cases, the SCOTUS is remarkably narrow in its interpretation and holding.

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    Replies
    1. Clayton CramerNovember 2, 2021 at 8:19 AM

      The Court overturns precedent reluctantly, but it does. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); Lawrence v, Texas (2004) wrongfully overturned Bowers v. ?Hardwick (1986).

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