Film Examines History Of U.S. Eugenics Laws

Film Examines History Of U.S. Eugenics Laws

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A 1927 Supreme Court decision, known as Buck v. Bell, effectively legalized the sterilization of people considered “undesirable.” Following the court’s ruling, a number of U.S. states passed and enforced eugenic sterilization laws well into the 1970s. 

A new documentary, The State of Eugenics, examines the history of these laws and how they impacted the people who were selected for sterilization. Filmmaker, Dawn Sinclair Shapiro, joins us to talk about her film.