Biennial report of the Eugenics Board of North Carolina

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First Biennial Report
OF
The Eugenics Board
of North Carolina
July 1, 1934
To
June 30, 1936
R. Eugene Brown,
Secretary.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Members of Board and Office Staff 4
Letter of Transmittal 5
Report of Secretary .__ 7
Map Showing Distribution of Cases by
Counties Between pages 12 & 13
Statistical Tables-
Operations Performed in North Carolina
1929 -June 30, 1936- 12
Sterilization Operations Performed in
United States to January 1, 1936 16
EUGENICS BOARD OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mrs. W. T. Bost, Commissioner of Public Welfare, Chairman
Hon. A. A. F. Seawell, Attorney General
Dr. Carl V. Reynolds, Secretary State Board of Health
Dr. J. W. Ashby, Superintendent, State Hospital, Raleigh
Dr. W. C. Linville, Superintendent, State Hospital, Goldsboro
STAFF
R. Eugene Brown, Secretary
Margaret Runnion, Office Secretary
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
To His Excellency, J. C. B. Ehringhaus,
Governor of North Carolina.
Dear Sir:
I have the honor of submitting herewith the report of the
Eugenics Board of North Carolina for the biennial period ended
June 30, 1936.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. W. T. Bost,
Chairman.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
To
The Eugenics Board Of North Carolina
Although this is the first biennial report on the work of the
Eugenics Board, the Board was organized in July, 1933 under
Chapter 224, Public Laws of 1933. Much of the time during
the first three months was spent in providing legal forms and in
working out procedures and policies. The first petitions for
sterilization operations were presented to the Board on October
21, 1933. Since that time there has been a gradual increase in
the number of cases presented at the monthly meetings, as is
indicated by Table I on page 12.
During the biennial period ended June 30, 1936 a total of
309 petitions for sterilization were presented to the Board for
consideration. The Board authorized operations in 301 of these
cases. Opportunity was given for the parties concerned in each
case to offer their objections or to give consent in writing for
the operation. During this period persons appeared for hear-ings
in only four cases. The Board declined to authorize the
operation in one of the four cases. The following table shows
the number and type of operations performed under orders of
the Eugenics Board during the past two years
:
Total Number of Sterilization Operations—By Type of Operation and
Origin of Petition—July 1, 1934 Through June 30, 1936.
8 First Biennial Report of
State institution and the Board believed that the consent of the
family for the operation might later be obtained.
Out of a total of 161 petitions presented to the Board be-tween
May 11, 1935 (when the General Assembly provided for
the submission of cases with consent) and June 30, 1936, written
consent for the operations were filed in 107 cases. An effort is
made in every case to secure the consent of the next of kin or
guardian of the patient by pointing out the advantages of steril-ization.
The purpose and the advantages of sterilization have
been well stated by the Human Betterment Foundation of
Pasadena, California, as follows:
1. That sterilization has one effect only—it prevents
parenthood.
2. It is not a punishment ; it is a protection ; and there-fore
carries no stigma or humiliation.
3. It in no way unsexes the party sterilized.
4. Sterilization is approved by the families and friends
of the sterilized.
5. It is approved by the medical staffs, probation
officers, and social workers generally wherever they
have come in contact with these patients.
6. It permits patients to return to their homes and
friends who would otherwise be confined to insti-tutions
during the fertile period of life.
7. The records show that many moron girls paroled
after sterilization have married and are happy and
succeeding fairly well. They could never have man-aged
and cared for children, to say nothing of the
inheritance and fate of such children.
8. Homes are kept together by sterilization of husband
and wife in many mild cases of mental disease,
thus removing the dread by the normal spouse of
the procreation of a defective child and permitting
normal marital companionship.
9. The operation is simple, it removes no organ or
tissue of the body. It has no effect on the patient
except to prevent parenthood. Under conservative
laws, sanely and diplomatically administered, as
they have been in California, these discoveries de-veloped
by the medical profession now offer to these
classes the greatest relief possible and the greatest
protection to the defenseless child of the future.
The Eugenics Board of North Carolina 9
If the case for sterilization is properly presented to the
families of patients needing sterilization, it is believed that in
most instances their consent and cooperation can be obtained.
The Eugenics Board has declined to attempt to force patients
to submit to operations in the few instances where persuasion
was not effective in getting patients to hospitals for such opera-tions
on the assumption that it is better to let a few cases go
rather than take the risk of creating antagonism. There are
some instances, however, particularly non-institutional cases,
where the need for sterilization is sufficiently urgent to warrant
the use of force and in such instances the petitioners should
have legal authorization for carrying out the orders of the
Board.
Much of the Secretary's time devoted to the work of the
Eugenics Board during the last three years has been spent in
promotional work. The subject has been presented at two
Public Welfare Institutes held in Chapel Hill, at two District
Welfare Conferences and at a meeting of the Charlotte Mental
Hygiene Society. In 1935 the Secretary prepared for the
Eugenics Board a booklet, "Eugenical Sterilization in North
Carolina," which contained a brief survey of the growth of
eugenical sterilization and a report of the work of the Eugenics
Board through June 30, 1935. Although the booklet was pre-pared
for distribution in the State, numerous requests from out
of the State have been received.
The law, procedure and forms are not included in this report
since they were included in the booklet referred to above. A
copy of the booklet will be presented to each member of the
General Assembly with a copy of the biennial report.
While it is believed wise to proceed cautiously, in order to
develop a sound basis for sterilization in North Carolina, the
magnitude of the problems of feeble-mindedness and mental
disease in the State, indicates that sterilization must be done
on a much larger scale if the program is to be made effective.
Two of the outstanding difficulties which must be overcome are
as follows
:
1. Hesitancy of County Commissioners to provide
adequate funds for hospitalization.
2. Limited number of social workers on the staffs of
the majority of the county departments of public
welfare to study and prepare cases to be presented
to the Eugenics Board and at the same time per-
10 First Biennial Report of
form adequately the numerous other duties for
which these county departments are responsible.
The sterilization law should be amended in at least two
respects, namely:
1. To provide that the County Superintendent of
Public Welfare may act as petitioner in instituting
sterilization proceedings in the case of any feeble-minded,
epileptic or mentally diseased person who
is on parole or probation from one of the State in-stitutions
and any such person who is an inmate of
a State institution when authorized to do so by the
Superintendent of such institution.
2. To provide that any feeble-minded, epileptic or
mentally diseased person may be admitted to the
appropriate State Hospital for purposes of sterili-zation
without the necessity of having such person
committed as an inmate; provided that the Eu-genics
Board of North Carolina has previously
considered the petition for sterilization and has
authorized such an operation. The Superintendent
of such State Hospital may in his discretion receive
in such manner any such person upon the written
request of a superintendent of public welfare or the
superintendent of another State institution, where
facilities for such operations are not available, and
that the State Hospital officials shall have the same
authority to restrain and control such person until
he has recovered from the operation or until such
time as the Superintendent deems wise for his
release. The Superintendent of such State Hospital
shall be authorized to collect a fee for such opera-tion
which shall be sufficient to cover the cost of
such operation and the cost of maintenance during
the time the patient is in the State Hospital.
It is, therefore, recommended that the law be amended in
these respects.
The members of the Eugenics Board have attended the
monthly meetings regularly in person or through duly author-ized
representatives as provided by law.
Dr. J. C. Knox and Dr. R. T. Stimpson of the State Board of
Health have each served at numerous meetings for the Secre-tary
of the State Board of Health.
Messrs. T. W. Bruton and Emmett Willis of the Attorney
General's Office have each served at numerous meetings for the
Attornev General.
The Eugenics Board of North Carolina 11
Dr. F. L. Whelpley of the State Hospital at Goldsboro has
served on several occasions for the Superintendent of the State
Hospital at Goldsboro.
EXPENDITURES
FISCAL YEAR 1935-1936
1. Salaries $1,380.00
2. Supplies and materials 18.77
3. Equipment _ 200.00
4. Postage 94.00
5. Printing forms, etc 84.43
6. Printing bulletins and reports 107.30
7. Telephone and telegrams 1.65
8. Subscription and dues 3.00
Total $1,889.15
Note.—From July 1, 1933 through June 30, 1935 the Eugenics
Board had no appropriation. Supplies, materials and
postage were furnished by the State Board of Charities
and Public Welfare for this period.
L2 First Biennial Report of
TABLE I
Number of Cases Presented at Each Meeting of The Eugenics Board and
Number of Operations Ordered Under the 1933 Law
October 21, 1933 .
November 15
December 13
January 19, 1934
February 21
March 21
April 20
May 23
June 27
July 20
August 29
September 19
October 19
November 21
December 19
January 18, 1935
February 20
March 20
April 19
May 22
June 19
July 19
August 21
September 18
October 18
November 20
December 18
January 22, 1936
February 19
March 18
April 22
May 20
June 24
Total
Cases Carried
Over From
Previous
Meeting
Operations
Ordered
Petitions
Declined Or
Action
Postponed
Indefinitely
Total SterilizTO
in l.'orth Carol ?'
from October 1
tion) through
by Counties.
N
The Eugenics Board of North Carolina 13
TABLE II
Eugenic Sterilization Operations Performed in North Carolina to
June 30, 1936
Year
u First Biennial Report of
table v
Sterilization Operations—Non-Institutional
Year
The Eugenics Board of North Carolina 15
TABLE VIII
Sterilization Operations with Reference to Type of Operation and Race,
1929 to June 30, 1936
Type of Operation
16 First Biennial Report of
table x
Sterilization Operations Performed in United States Under State Laws*
1907 to January 1, 1936
This book circulates for a/2f-week period and
is due on the last date stamped below. It may
be renewed for one additional period. The
fine for late return is ^S^.a day.
mi 6,11
-JHPR07
H00006283 J
HQ 750 .Al N86H.li 1935
North Carolina. Eugenics board,
Eugenical sterilization in
Ilorth Carolina
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