New
Hampshire
Number
of Victims
The
total number of people
sterilized under New Hampshire’s sterilization law was 679, of whom 152
were
male and 527 (i.e., close to 90%) were female. About 37% of those
sterilized
were considered mentally ill, and 56% “mentally deficient,” while the
remaining
17% belonged to neither category. Given the language of New
Hampshire's
1929 sterilization law, this targeted group likely included
epileptics.
Period
When Sterilizations Occurred
Sterilizations
occurred between the
1910s until 1959 (Paul, p. 418).
Temporal
Patterns which
Sterilizations Occurred:
While
a comparatively small number
of people were sterilized until 1928, between 1928 and 1931, 39
people
were sterilized, but the number soared to 80 in 1932, making this the
peak year
for sterilizations (Paul, p. 418), with 17 people sterilized that year
for
every 100,000 residents. Between 1933 and 1937, 188 people were
sterilized,
which results in about 8 people sterilized for every 100,000 residents
per
year.
Passage
of Laws
New
Hampshire’s first sterilization
law was enacted in 1917, but it was voluntary and not widely used
(Paul, p.
415). In 1921 legislation tried to enact new and revised sterilization
laws,
which included a more in-depth procedure to prevent the patient from
losing
their rights. However, not a single one passed (Lombardo, p.97). In 1929, the sexual sterilization act was
reenacted as compulsory.
When
the law passed, doctors and
people in the institutions where sterilizations occurred began to look
at ways
to have a rapid turnover of people admitted, sterilized and then
released from
the institution (Reilly p. 98).
Groups
Identified in the Law
The first sterilization law of 1917 provided for the sterilization of the “feeble-minded and patients suffering from certain mental diseases, in institutions and at large” (Stone, p. 537). The 1929 law concerned inmate confined in state institutions “afflicted with hereditary forms of insanity that are recurrent, idiocy, imbecility, feeble-mindedness or epilepsy” (Stone, p. 537). It allowed for the sterilization of these individuals if “by law of heredity” they were “likely” to produce offspring with similar traits, and further that the best interests of the individual and state would be served by sterilization. It was notable that the removal of organs was strictly forbidden (Brown, p. 26).
Marriage
Laws
Process
of Law
A
portion of the 1929 reenactment
states as follows: “Whenever the superintendent of any state or county
institution shall be of the opinion that it is for the best interest of
the
inmate and society that any inmate of the institution under his care
should be
sexually sterilized, such superintendent is hereby authorized to cause
to be
performed by some capable surgeon the operation of sterilization on any
such
inmate [as stated above]” (quoted in Stone, p. 537). Those affected had
the
right to appeal the sterilization decision to the New Hampshire Supreme
Court
within 14 days of when the order is issued (Stone, p. 537)
Precipitating
Factors and Processes
In 1927 the Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell was decided in favor of the state of Virginia. Around that time, “the [Vermont eugenics] advisory committee agreed to promote a sterilization law and to study the laws in Maine and New Hampshire” (Gallagher, p. 78). On April 18, 1929, New Hampshire re-enacted its sterilization law (Stone, p. 536).
The
right of the state to sterilize
inmates or patients it determined to be a burden was affirmed in the
court case
in re Penny N, wherein the
New Hampshire Supreme court
attempted to outline a way in which sterilization could be approved.
This case,
in turn rested largely on the decision of a New Jersey court in In re Grady. These
cases were very similar
in that they both involved a conflict between the guardians of the
patient and
the state, and that both established the importance the patient’s
interest as
paramount (Calibey, p, 15).
Groups
Targeted and Victimized
For
patients sterilized at the New
Hampshire State Hospital between 1916 and 1935, one researcher found
that
sterilizations were primarily performed on women of childbearing age
(Stone, p.
538). Little else is known about the socio-economic status.
One
victim of Laconia State School
for the Feeble-minded is known: Robert Thomas (Bob) Crawford. A
video
documentary was created, based on his experience there, entitled
“Valley of
Darkness.” Deemed retarded due to a severe head injury he sustained as
an
infant, he was abandoned by his parents at Laconia School for the
Feeble-minded
at age 8, for economic reasons. Though not sterilized, his experiences
there
shed light on the abusive treatment of many individuals who were
sterilized a
generation before him. He was confined to Baker residence at
Laconia for
17 years from 1960-1977 and released thereafter.
Another
such victim was Roberta
Gallant, her testimony was taken in 2007by the Community Support
Network, Inc.
Gallant was born in 1951 and, due to an injury during birth, was
diagnosed by a
doctor with a “significant disability” along with her sister. Her
parents sent
her to the Laconia School at the age of five due to their inability to
properly
care for her and her four other siblings (only one of whom was
committed with
her). Gallant remained at the school for almost twenty-five years,
enduring
years of abuse by hospital staff and patients, and beginning work for
the
school at the age of twelve. Gallant was finally released in 1981, and
despite
others’ views to the contrary, was able to live independently
(Disability Rights Center).
Major
Proponents
One
proponent was Dr. Charles P.
Bancroft, the Superintendent of New Hampshire State Hospital between
1882 and
1917. He was among New Hampshire’s earliest major eugenics advocate and
the
first in the state to compile heredity data, searching for conditions
such emotionalism,
hysteria, Huntington's disease and alcoholism. He concluded that
genetic factor
played a major role in explaining how these disorders arose but
conceded the
influence of “environmental conditions” (Stone, pp. 536-7).
Betsy
Scott Johnson was another proponent for New Hampshire
sterilization. She was a social worker for the Laconia State
School
between the years of 1917-1947. She supported New Hampshire
compulsory
sterilization program in an article she wrote in 1950 titled “A study
of
sterilized persons from the Laconia State School.” In it, she claims
that the
state of New Hampshire saved an estimated 388,974 dollars between the
years of
1917 and 1947 due to sterilization (Paul, pp. 416-7).
John
Hiram Gerould, a professor of biology at Dartmouth
College from 1894 to 1938 was a vocal supporter of positive eugenics.
That is,
he advocated the encouragement of those with “fit” genes to reproduce.
However,
Gerould was also a noted supporter of negative eugenics as well, and of
sterilization in particular. He did, in fact, teach ongoing courses in
eugenics
for much of his time at the college, through which he impressed upon
his
students the importance of eugenics in society. It should, however be
noted
that, as a eugenicist, Gerould often held more liberal views towards
measures
that should be taken in the name of eugenics than his colleagues, often
advocating birth control and changes to societal structure to encourage
“positive” eugenic change (Bongers).
“Feeder
Institutions” and Institutions Where Sterilizations
Were Performed
(Photo
origin: Rootsweb.org; available at
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~asylums/concord_nh/index.html)
The
New Hampshire State Hospital in
Concord became the institution where the highest number of
sterilizations
occurred up to 1936 (Stone, p. 537). 155 of the 310 operations
were
performed there. The number of sterilization at the hospital decreased
thereafter compared to Laconia. By 1947, a total of 170 people
had been
were sterilized there (Paul, p. 415, 418). It is still in operation
today. The
State of New Hampshire’s website provides a 15-page booklet on the
history of
the hospital, which does not mention the hospital’s involvement in
eugenic
sterilizations (New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services).
(Photo
origin: Weirsbeach.com; available at
http://www.weirsbeach.com/topten/reason8frame.html)
The
Laconia State School for the
Feeble-minded is the other noted institution (for an institutional
history, see
Krumm). 106 of the 310 operations up to 1936 were performed there
up until
1936 (Stone, p. 537). By 1947 that total had risen to 264
sterilizations
(Paul, p. 415). The School closed formally in 1991, but, nowadays
the
Laconia School is a prison (Lee) and its website makes no note of its
past as a
mental institution (New Hampshire Department of Corrections). A few
parts of
the institution, including the Baker residence where Bob Crawford was
confined,
remain but are run down today (Lee).
Between
1929 and 1936, 49
sterilizations were performed at “the various county farms of the
state”
(Stone, p. 537).
Opponents
By
the 1950s eugenic ideology had
became unfashionable among physicians. Dr. G. Donald Niswander, the
acting
superintendent for the New Hampshire State Hospital, stated: “I believe
that
this reduction in operations over the years, with the changes in the
hospital
administration, likewise there have been changes in the philosophy
regarding
the sterilization of the mentally ill…if relatives request
sterilization they
urge to take the matter with their family doctor” (Paul, p. 417). In
addition
there was a realization that mental illness also has an important
environmental
component (Stone, p. 537).
Present
Day
As
recently as 1985, New Hampshire has offered sterilization services,
however,
these were not compulsory, but instead were offered as birth control
services.
The state received $1,232,000 from the federal government, $15,000 of
which
went towards sterilizations (Gold and Macias 1985, pp. 260-262).
Despite the
seeming shift in New Hampshire’s policies and attitudes toward its
eugenic
history, there are organizations, such as the Community Support
Network, Inc.
that attempt to keep the memory of the Laconia School and New Hampshire
State
Hospital fresh in the minds of the public. Through public forums with
showings
of the film Lost in Laconia as well
as maintenance of a virtual memorial and information center (Community
Support Network).
Bibliography
Bongers, Kale S. “Eugenics at Dartmouth College: John Hiram Gerould and Human Heredity” Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science. http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/2007S/bongers.pdf
Brown, Frederick W. 1930. "Eugenic Sterilization in the United States Its Present Status." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 149, 3: 22-35.
Calibey,
Kathryn A.
1981. "Nonconsensual Sterilization of the Mentally
Retarded: Analysis of Standards for Judicial Determinations." Western New England Law
Review 33,. 4: 689-714.
Community
Support Network. “Laconia State School
History.” Available at http://www.csni.org/LaconiaStateSchool/index.htm
Disabilites
Rights Center.
“Memories of A former Resident of Laconia State School,
Roberta Gallant.” Available at http://www.drcnh.org/Robertastory.pdf
Gallagher,
Nancy L. 1999. Breeding
Better Vermonters: The Eugenics Project in the Green Mountain State.
Hanover: University Press of New England.
Gold,
Rachel B.
and Macias, Jennifer.
1985. "Public Funding of Contraceptive, Sterilization and
Abortion Services." Family Planning Perspectives
18,
6: 259-64
Krumm,
Janet M. 1994. "The History of the
Laconia State School." The New Hampshire Challenge 7, 1:
1-8.
Lee,
Heather. “His Name is Bob: A Documentary Film: Valley
of Darkness” (3Frog Productions). Available at <http://www.hisnameisbob.com/>.
Lombardo,
Paul. 2008. Three Generations, No Imbeciles, Baltimore:. Johns Hopkins University Press.
New
Hampshire Department of
Corrections.
“State Prison: Lakes Region
Facility.” Available at <http://www.nh.gov/nhdoc/index.html>.
Paul,
Julius. 1965. “State Eugenic Sterilization Laws
in American Thought and Practice: New Hampshire.” Washington D.C.:
Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research.
Reilly,
Philip R. 1991. The Surgical Solution:
The History of Involuntary Sterilizations in the United States.
Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press.