07 LC 21
9199
House
Resolution 122
By:
Representatives Oliver of the
83rd,
Gardner of the
57th,
and Ashe of the
56th
A
RESOLUTION
Expressing
profound regret for Georgia´s participation in the eugenics movement in the
United States and marking the centennial of eugenic sterilization in the United
States; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
in the early 20th century, a pseudo-scientific movement called eugenics gained
popularity in the United States and advocated the improvement of the human race
by using selective breeding to eliminate supposed hereditary flaws such as
mental disability and physical deformity; and
WHEREAS,
in 1907, Indiana became the first state to enact a eugenics based sterilization
law, mandating the sterilization of "confirmed criminals, idiots, rapists, and
imbeciles"; and
WHEREAS,
eventually more than 30 states enacted similar compulsory sterilization laws
resulting in the involuntary sterilization of more than 65,000 individuals in
the United States; and
WHEREAS,
the Supreme Court sanctioned the practice of compulsory sterilization in an
infamous 1927 decision by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in which the court
upheld Virginia´s sterilization of a young woman in a mental health
facility on the grounds that "three generations of imbeciles [were] enough";
and
WHEREAS,
in 1937, Georgia created a State Board of Eugenics and authorized the
involuntary sterilization of Georgia´s patients in state mental health
facilities, as well as Georgia inmates in state prisons and reformatories;
and
WHEREAS,
even though Georgia was the last state to enact a sterilization law, it
performed the fifth largest number of sterilizations in the nation, sterilizing
approximately 3,300 of its citizens between 1937 and 1970, the year the law was
repealed; and
WHEREAS,
more compulsory sterilizations were performed in Georgia between 1937 and 1970
than in any other state in the nation except North Carolina; and
WHEREAS,
in addition to compulsory sterilization, Georgia and many other states enacted
eugenics related legislation that attempted to preserve "racial integrity" by
banning interracial marriage; and
WHEREAS,
Georgia prohibited interracial marriages for 40 years, from 1927, when it
enacted its antimiscegenation law, to 1967, when the Supreme Court invalidated
all such laws in its landmark
Loving v. Virginia
decision; and
WHEREAS,
eugenics legislation targeted the most vulnerable populations in the United
States, including the disabled, the incarcerated, the poor, the members of
racial and ethnic minorities, and all others viewed as "genetically unfit" and
provided a false scientific rationale for discriminatory and racist practices;
and
WHEREAS,
despite the harm done to many thousands of Americans in the name of eugenics,
the eugenics movement is largely forgotten today; and
WHEREAS,
in the past five years, several other states, including Virginia, Oregon, North
Carolina, and California, have publicly repudiated their involvement in the
eugenics movement; and
WHEREAS,
the year 2007 marks the centennial of eugenic sterilization in the United States
and the 70th anniversary of the passage of Georgia´s sterilization
law.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body express their profound regret for Georgia´s participation in the
eugenics movement and the injustices done under eugenics laws, including the
involuntary sterilization of Georgia citizens.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body hereby support the full
education of Georgia citizens about the eugenics movement in order to ensure
that a more enlightened population repudiates the intolerance and bigotry that
formed the basis of American eugenics laws and rejects similar laws in the
future.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the public
and the press.