Phil 380 Response Paper: Buck v. Bell Assignment

In the Learn section of Module 6: Week 6, find the item Read: Buck v. Bell (1927) and address the following questions:

1. What 2 principles are in conflict in this case? Support your answer.
2. What are some red flags you see in how the trial came about and the persons involved?
3. Do you think forced sterilization of those deemed genetically inferior is an appropriate way to deal with the disease?

Questions to consider:

1. How much do you think the decision to treat Carrie as “feebleminded” was based on a moral evaluation of her unwed pregnancy (and her mother’s moral background)? Do you think this raises questions about the other 60,000 institutionalized patients who were sterilized between 1927 and 1974?
2. The court argued that forced sterilization as necessary for the public good was similar to forced vaccination. Do you think that argument is successful? In what ways are forced sterilization and forced vaccination analogous and disanalogous?

Solution: Phil 380 Response Paper: Buck v. Bell Assignment

Conflicting Principles

In Buck v. Bell (1927), the two conflicting principles are (i) the protection of individual rights and (ii) the promotion of public welfare. In this case, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of a state statute that permitted compulsory sterilization of institutionalized people deemed unfit due to intellectual disability, arguing that hereditary conditions such as epilepsy, imbecility, and feeblemindedness should not be allowed to pass to future generations[1]. While this was aimed at promoting public welfare by protecting its health, it overlooked the principle of individual autonomy which gives humans the right to informed decision-making about their bodies.

Red Flags

There are several red flags from the trials and persons involved in the case of Buck v. Bell. To begin with, the plaintiff, Carrier Buck, was not adequately represented in the court and thus, the lack of proper legal defense, when combined with her feeblemindedness and social discrimination presented a red flag1. Secondly, the witnesses that testified against the mental fitness of Ms. Buck were influenced influence by eugenic ideology, which promoted selective breeding to achieve an improved and healthy human race. Lastly, the judgment was biased and…..Please click purchase button below to get full answer for $10

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