What are sterilization laws?

The Eugenics Movement and Sterilization Laws

The founder of the eugenics movement is considered to be Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), who carried out extensive genetic studies of human traits. He thought the human race would be improved by encouraging humans with desirable traits (such as intelligence, good character, and musical ability) to have more children than those people with less desirable traits (positive eugenics). With the development of Mendelian genetics shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century, research on improving the genetic quality of plants and animals was in full swing. Success with plants and domestic animals made it inevitable that interest would develop in applying those principles to the improvement of human beings. As some human traits became known to be under the control of single genes, some geneticists began to claim that all sorts of traits (including many behavioral traits and even social characteristics and preferences) were under the control of a single gene, with little regard for the possible impact of environmental factors.

The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, was set up by Charles Davenport to gather and collate information on human traits. The eugenics movement became a powerful political force that led to the creation and implementation of laws restricting immigration and regulating reproduction. Some geneticists and politicians reasoned that since mental retardation and other “undesirable” behavioral and physical traits were affected by genes, society had an obligation and a moral right to restrict the reproduction of individuals with “bad genes” (negative genetics).

The state of Indiana passed the first compulsory sterilization law in 1907, which permitted the involuntary sterilization of inmates in state institutions. Inmates included not only “imbeciles,” “idiots,” and others with varying degrees of intellectual disability (described as “feeble-mindedness”) but also people who were committed for behavioral problems such as criminality, swearing, promiscuity, and slovenliness. By 1911, similar laws had been passed in six states, and by the end of the 1920s, twenty-four states had similar sterilization laws. Ultimately, thirty-three states enacted sterilization laws.

The US Supreme Court, in its 1927 Buck v. Bell decision, supported the eugenic principle that states could use involuntary sterilization to eliminate genetic defects from the population. The vote of the court was eight to one. The court’s reasoning went as follows: We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the state for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes.

Ironically, the sterilization laws of the United States and Canada served as models for the eugenics movement in Nazi Germany in its program to ensure so-called racial purity and superiority.

Impact and Applications

Two problems associated with eugenics are the subjective nature of deciding which traits are desirable and determining who should decide. These concerns aside, the question of whether there is a sound scientific basis for the desire to manipulate the human gene pool remains. Does the sterilization of individuals who are intellectually disabled or who have some other mental or physical impairment improve the human genetic composition? Involuntary sterilization of affected individuals would quickly reduce the incidence of dominant genetic traits. Individuals who were homozygous for recessive traits would also be eliminated. However, most harmful recessive genes are carried by individuals who appear normal and, therefore, would not be “obvious” for sterilization purposes. These “normal” people would continue to pass on the “bad” gene to the next generation, and a certain number of affected people would again be born. It would take an extraordinary number of generations to significantly reduce the frequency of harmful genes.

The impact sterilization laws had on the US population by 1960 was far-reaching, as some sixty thousand people were sterilized. In 1978, the federal government passed legislation requiring full, informed consent and a waiting period of more than a month before a publicly funded sterilization may be performed. Other countries also had laws that allowed forced sterilizations, with many programs continuing into the 1970s. The province of Alberta, Canada, sterilized three thousand people before its law was repealed. Another sixty thousand were sterilized in Sweden. The story of sterilization and “euthanasia” in Germany needs no retelling. According to Paul Samakow, legal advice contributor to the Washington Times, China and India continued to perform forced sterilizations, sometimes en masse, in the 2010s for reasons of population control. As the United Nations and World Health Organization stated in their interagency statement Eliminating Forced, Coercive and Otherwise Involuntary Sterilization (2014), involuntary and/or coercive sterilizations of specific populations, such as those with disabilities and those belonging to ethnic, racial, or sexual minority groups, continues around the world. With the ability to decipher the human genome and implement improved genetic testing procedures, a danger exists that new institutionalized programs of eugenics might once again emerge.

Key Terms negative eugenics : the effort to improve the human species by discouraging or eliminating reproduction among those deemed to be socially or physically unfit positive eugenics : the effort to encourage more prolific breeding among “gifted” individuals sterilization : an operation to make reproduction impossible; in tubal ligation, doctors sever the fallopian tubes so that a woman cannot conceive a child

Bibliography

Campbell, Annily. Childfree and Sterilized: Women’s Decisions and Medical Responses. New York: Cassell, 1999. Print.

42 e-CFR 441 Subpart F—Sterilizations.Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. GPO, 4 Aug. 2014. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.

Cussins, Jessica. "Involuntary Sterilization Then and Now." Psychology Today. Sussex, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.

Gallagher, Nancy L. Breeding Better Vermonters: The Eugenics Program in the Green Mountain State. Hanover: UP of New England, 2000. Print.

Human Rights Watch. "Sterilization of Women and Girls with Disabilities: A Briefing Paper." HRW.org. Human Rights Watch, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.

Kevles, Daniel J. In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. 1995. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2004. Print.

Lombardo, Paul A. Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2010. Print.

Mason, J. K. “Unsuccessful Sterilization.” The Troubled Pregnancy: Legal Wrongs and Rights in Reproduction. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.

Meyers, David W. The Human Body and the Law: A Medico-Legal Study. New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction, 2006. Print.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Office, UN Women, the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Eliminating Forced, Coercive and Otherwise Involuntary Sterilization. Geneva: Dept. of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, 2014. PDF file.

Samakow, Paul. "Forced Sterilization of Mentally Incompetent Man Legal in Britain." Washington Times Communities. Washington Times, 2013. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.

What is the central problem in the Dao De Jing?

The Dao De Jing (also called Tao Te Ching or Laozi) is the central text of Taoism and an important text in Chinese cultural history. The title translates to "The Classic [text] of the Way's Virtues," and the text itself is composed of 81 short poems or chapters on politics, spirituality, and practical advice for self-conduct. The Dao De Jing is not a chronological story with a plot or conflict which must be resolved; instead, the central theme of the book is how to act in accordance with the Dao or "Way." The central problem of Daoism and the Dao De Jing is acting in a way that is disharmonious with the natural order of the Dao. Daoism emphasizes the importance of compassion, humility, temperance, spontaneity, nature, and detachment from material goods. 

What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?

Introduction

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI/MMPI-2) was developed during the late 1930s, reaching publication in 1943. The authors of the test were Starke R. Hathaway, a psychologist, and J. C. McKinley, a physician to whom Hathaway reported at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. The test was originally developed to aid in the assessment of adult psychiatric patients, both to describe the type and severity of their disturbance and to measure patient change over time. It quickly grew in popularity to become the most widely used and researched psychological test ever published.

Three characteristics distinguished the MMPI from the psychological tests of the 1930s. First, it was developed as a broadband test, that is, a multiphasic test that would assess a number of personality attributes in a single administration. Most personality tests up to that time were more narrow in their focus. Second, this was the first personality test to use an empirical method of selecting test questions. This procedure involved selecting test items that differentiated between persons making up a normal population and persons in the clinical group of interest (such as individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, or other psychiatric disorders) at a statistically significant level. Third, the MMPI incorporated validity scales, or measures of test-taking attitude that identified tendencies to either underreport or overreport psychopathology.

Restandardization

An important limitation of the original MMPI had to do with its normative sample, or the reference group used to represent the normal population (in contrast to the clinical groups). The original normal reference group consisted primarily of a rural, all white, eighth-grade-educated population who were visiting patients at the University of Minnesota Hospital. Over time, a number of criticisms were made that this group, predominantly Scandinavian in origin, was not representative of the broader United States population. Other problems with the MMPI also developed, including outdated test item content, poorly worded items, or item content objectionable to contemporary test takers (for instance, questions regarding religious beliefs or bodily functions). In response to such concerns, an MMPI restandardization project was begun in 1982, culminating in the publication of the MMPI-2 in 1989. Comparison of the restandardized normal sample to 1990 census data by ethnicity, age, and education indicated that the new normative group was significantly more representative of the United States population than were the original norms, with the exception that well-educated persons were overrepresented. The MMPI-2 also incorporated additional validity measures and newly developed scales reflecting contemporary clinical problems.

Description of the Test

The MMPI-2 is an objectively scored, standardized questionnaire consisting of 567 self-descriptive statements answered as either “true” or “false.” Responses can be either hand- or computer-scored and are summarized on a profile sheet. Interpretation is based on both the configuration of scales on the profile sheet and demographic variables characterizing the test-taker. The basic profile sheet is made up of nine validity measures and ten traditional clinical scales. Fifteen additional “content” scales can also be scored, as well as potentially hundreds of supplementary and research scales. The validity scales measure test-taking attitudes, including such characteristics as consistencies in response patterns and tendencies to exaggerate or minimize psychological problems. The clinical scales are labeled both by a number and with traditional psychiatric diagnostic labels such as depression, paranoia, and schizophrenia. The specific MMPI scale labels may be misleading in that some diagnostic labels are outdated (such as “psychasthenia” or “hysteria”). In addition, the scales do not effectively differentiate diagnostic groups (for instance, an elevation on the paranoia scale is not exclusive to persons with a paranoia diagnosis). It has thus become standard practice to refer to profiles by characteristic scale numbers (such as a “49” profile) and to interpret them according to relevant research rather than by scale labels. The fifteen content scales reflect the client’s endorsement of test items whose content is obvious and descriptive of particular problem areas such as anxiety, health concerns, or family problems. The many supplementary scales measure a wide range of concerns, ranging from addiction proneness to post-traumatic stress disorder to marital distress. The MMPI-2 is appropriate for use only with those aged eighteen years and older. A shorter version of the test, the MMPI-A, is available for use with fourteen- to eighteen-year-old adolescents.

Although the MMPI-2 is still widely administered, there is a revised version published in 2008 known as the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). The MMPI-2-RF is 338 questions long and scores test-takers on a set of clinical scales which has been altered to better reflect the current understanding of the psychological issues covered by the test.

Bibliography

Ben-Porath, Yossef S. Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2012. Print.

Butcher, James N., ed. Basic Sources on the MMPI-2. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2000. Print.

Butcher, James N., ed. International Adaptations of the MMPI-2. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1996. Print.

Butcher, James N., and Carolyn L. Williams. "Personality Assessment with the MMPI-2: Historical Roots, Internatinoal Adaptations, and Current Challenges." Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 1.1 (2009): 105–35. Print.

Butcher, James N., and John R. Graham. Development and Use of the MMPI-2 Content Scales. 3d ed. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2007.

Caldwell, Alex B. “What Do the MMPI Scales Fundamentally Measure? Some Hypotheses.” Journal of Personality Assessment 76.1 (2001): 1–17. Print.

Dahlstrom, W. G., D. Lachar, and L. W. Dahlstrom. MMPI Patterns of American Minorities. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1986. Print.

Framingham, Jane. "Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)." Psych Central. Psych Central, 2011. Web. 20 May 2014.

Friedman, A. F., R. Lewak, D. S. Nichols, and J. T. Webb. Psychological Assessment with the MMPI-2. Mahwah: Erlbaum, 2001. Print.

What happens in the beginning of the book?

By "beginning of the book" I am going to assume that you would like events that happen during September.  The book doesn't have a numbered chapter system.  Instead, each chapter is the name of the month that the book is taking place during.  The entire novel takes readers through Holling Hoodhood's seventh grade year.  

One of the first things that readers learn about Holling is that he isn't Catholic or Jewish.  He is Protestant.  That isn't a big deal in and of itself, but Holling is the only Protestant in his entire school. This makes Wednesday afternoons a bit awkward for Holling, because all of his classmates either go to Hebrew School or Catholic Catechism.  In order to put Holling somewhere, the school administration arranges for him to spend Wednesday afternoons with Mrs. Baker.  Mrs. Baker is not warm and welcoming at this point in the book, so Holling assumes that Mrs. Baker hates his guts.  Mrs. Baker even tries to have Holling retake the previous year's math class, so she doesn't have to deal with him.  That fails, so she makes Holling do menial tasks like cleaning desks and chalkboards.  

Chapter one also has a great recess event.  Holling is out during recess trying not to be noticed by older kids like Doug Switeck's brother. It doesn't work, and Holling is pulled into a pick up game of soccer.  Holling is tasked with guarding the older brute of a boy.  Doug Switeck's brother tries to run down Holling in front of the goal.  At the last second, Holling sidesteps out of the way and trips the bully.  Doug Switeck's brother goes flying toward the goal post and hits his head super hard.  Everybody is wonderfully impressed that Holling could "take out" the older boy.  

Finally, chapter one introduces readers to Holling's home.  The house may look nice on the outside and the inside, but readers learn that Holling's home life is not good.  His mother is a weak willed secret smoker.  His sister is antagonistic to just about everybody, and Holling's father only cares about himself and his business.  

What are caregivers and caregiving for cancer?

Statistics: According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, there are an estimated 44 million people in the United States who are engaged in caregiving for a family member. Three out of five informal caregivers are women. A majority of caregivers are middle-aged, and a quarter of all caregivers provide care for someone over the age of fifty. Half of all caregivers are employed full or part time and provide fewer than eight hours of care per week. The average caregiver spends four to five years in this role.

Many informal caregivers provide care for a loved one living in close proximity; however, a number of caregivers fall into the long distance category, spending on average $392 a month on travel and out-of-pocket expenses as part of their caregiving duties.

The role of the caregiver: There is no “typical” caregiver in terms of the support the person provides to an ill person. Some caregivers help with grocery shopping and laundry, others take a loved one to doctor visits and help change bandages, while still others provide long-distance support to someone by checking in with the individual on a regular basis and lending an ear.

According to the American Cancer Society, for caregivers to give appropriate care, they need to take time to listen to the person requiring caregiving and ask what types of help that person may need on an ongoing basis. Open communication is vital. A caregiver may think the patient needs help with something that the person feels capable of handling. To keep conflict and frustration to a minimum, the caregiver and cancer patient must be willing to listen to each other’s needs and concerns. Both parties need to keep focused on their goal: to provide the most appropriate care and make sure all needs are met.

In addition to the important role a caregiver plays in the life of the patient, the caregiver is also a vital part of the health care team. Caregivers can provide important information on the patient’s health by observing health signs and symptoms while they help the patient. Typically, caregivers look for changes in mental and emotional function and any noticeable changes in the patient’s condition. Caregivers should ask the medical providers how to keep records and how to perform any tasks (such as bandage changing) that they are being asked to do. The American Red Cross offers caregiving courses online and in person that may help caregivers feel more competent in their new role.

Caregivers need to take time to think about what tasks must be done and determine what they realistically can and want to provide for the ill person. They must determine what they will do themselves and what they will delegate to other family members or a hired professional, according to the National Cancer Institute. No single person can do everything, and a caregiver’s hardest decision may be determining what tasks must be delegated to others. There is no reason that caregivers should feel guilty about not being able to do everything alone. When caregivers ask friends or relatives to help they should not be offended if they are refused, as people may have other demands on their time and other priorities. However, when people offer to help, caregivers should take them up on their offers.

Those providing long-distance support need to determine in what ways the cancer patient needs help and then find professional or informal caregivers to help with those needs. To find contact information for local agencies that can provide services, long-distance caregivers can consult a local telephone book or do an Internet search. The type of professional caregiver hired will vary depending on a patient’s needs. It is also helpful for a long-distance caregiver to make a list of the ill person’s local friends and contact them to see if they would be willing to check in on the individual on occasion and help with tasks that must be done in person. It may also be wise to set aside money on a regular basis to pay for those times when the caregiver may unexpectedly need to travel to the patient’s side.

Professional caregivers can perform a number of tasks and go by different names, according to the National Association for Homecare. For example, a home health aide can administer medical treatments, while a companion will sit with the ill person and may help with light housekeeping but is not trained to perform medical duties. Regardless of the services the professional caregiver is providing, the main caregiver needs to ask questions to determine whom to hire. The content of these questions concerns how long the caregiver has been working in the field, what kind of training he or she received, and the professional’s fee and work availability. In addition, the employer should check the caregiver’s references. Payment for professional caregiving services is typically through a combination of self-pay and public and private entities.

Care for caregivers: Some challenges caregivers typically talk about include having less time for their personal lives and the difficulty of trying to balance their current responsibilities with their caregiving role. Other concerns include financial strains and feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally distressed.

It is important for caregivers to take time to take care of themselves. Many caregivers become so focused on helping someone else that they forget to make themselves a priority. Caregivers can temporarily put aside their needs to help someone else, but putting aside these needs for long periods of time is not wise and can be detrimental to their physical and emotional health.

Studies show that informal caregivers are at a higher risk for physical, mental, and emotional illness. They have increased risk for cardiovascular disease, can have impaired immune systems, and may have increased blood pressure and insulin levels. In addition, caregivers are prone to depression, anxiety disorders, and feelings of guilt. Emotionally, caregivers can feel a sense of anger at themselves and the patient, be prone to irritability that leads to moodiness, and be unable to concentrate.

To combat the potentially harmful effects of caregiving, it is important for caregivers to make time for themselves and maintain a routine that will be beneficial to their own health. For example, they should make time to exercise, eat well, and get enough sleep as well as to connect with friends and families, pursue their own interests, and do nice things for themselves.

Caregivers should also find ways to deal with their emotions regarding their role. Many caregivers will face emotions that range from anger, grief, and guilt to anxiety, depression, and loneliness. These feelings are all normal, and having other caregivers with whom to share their experiences or just being able to vent their emotions is important.

Caregiver support groups: Many caregivers find it easier to cope with their role by reaching out to others who share their experiences. From in-person support groups held at local community centers and hospitals to online chat rooms, there are a number of ways a caregiver can connect with other caregivers. Caregivers should try out various types of support groups to find the best option. There are also a number of books about caregiving that include stories by other caregivers. There is no reason caregivers should have to cope alone, as there are many opportunities for caregivers to connect with each other.

Bibliography

Barry, Michael S. The Art of Caregiving: How to Lend Support and Encouragement to Those with Cancer. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Life Journey, 2007.

Capossela, Cappy, and Sheila Warnock. Share the Care: How to Organize a Group to Care for Someone Who Is Seriously Ill. Rev. ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.

Gilbar, Ora, and Hasida Ben-Zur. Cancer and the Family Caregiver: Distress and Coping. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 2002.

Hennessey, Maya. If Only I’d Had This Caregiving Book. Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2006.

Houts, Peter S., and Julia A. Bucher, eds. Caregiving: A Step by Step Resource for Caring for the Person with Cancer at Home. Rev. ed. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2003.

Intner, Riki, and Roberta Cole. Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of Inspiration. San Francisco: Elders Academy Press, 2006.

Kane, Jeff. How to Heal: A Guide for Caregivers. New York: Allworth Press, 2003.

Mintz, Suzanne Gebben. Love, Honor, and Value: A Family Caregiver Speaks Out About the Choices and Challenges of Caregiving. Sterling, Va.: Capital Books, 2002.

Perry, Angela, ed. The American Medical Association Guide to Home Caregiving. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Rose, Susannah, and Richard Hara. One Hundred Questions and Answers About Caregiving for Family or Friends with Cancer. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett, 2004.

Which is the most powerful branch of government? Why? Give examples.

In my opinion, the most powerful branch of United States government is the legislative branch, Congress, in spite of the fact that it has not accomplished all that much in recent years.  I think it was intended to be the most powerful branch, and that this is reflected in its being created as the first article of the Constitution. We were intended to be a nation of law.

Congress has an extensive list in Article I of areas in which it can create law.  Within those areas, immigration, interstate commerce, taxation, and war, to name but a few, it can create laws that can withstand attacks by the other branches of government.  If a president vetoes a law, Congress can override that veto. If the Supreme Court finds legislation wanting somehow, Congress can tweak it to make it pass constitutional muster.  For example, the Supreme Court, last term, I believe, struck down a section of the Voting Rights Act, and Congress, had it the political will to do so, could have amended the act to restore that section while still being constitutionally compliant.  It has declined to exercise its power this way for political reasons, but that does not mean its power does not exist. 

Congress also has the responsibility to advise and consent on federal presidential appointments.  We have seen during the past two presidential administrations its ability to hobble the executive branch by simply failing to move along on that process, most strikingly, right now, as it declines to consider a proffered candidate for the Supreme Court. That it is constitutional for Congress to decline to consider a presidential nominee has never been subject to challenge in the courts before, but at the moment, it is exercising this power, which, at the very least, seems to be implicit within the Constitution. 

No matter which other branch of government wishes to oppose the will of the legislative branch, it does have the means of overpowering that opposition. Whether it chooses to exercise that power or not is another matter. It is also worth noting that in a nation in which the majority of eligible voters choose to not vote, the most powerful branch of government by no means represents the majority of people.

What is the scientific explanation that suggests the universe is expanding? What two main concepts does it rely on?

The theory that the universe is expanding began with one important observation made by Edwin Hubble: red shift. In 1929, Hubble stated that all galaxies were moving away from us and from each other. He based this on the observation that the light being emitted from the galaxies was "shifted" toward the red end of our visible light spectrum.  You experience a somewhat similar effect when the frequency of sound appears higher as an object approaches you and lower as it recedes away (commonly known as the Doppler Shift).  Light being emitted from the galaxies is being "stretched" as the galaxies move away, increasing their wavelength and decreasing their frequency.  We perceive this as a shift towards red (as it has a longer wavelength than the other colors).

What becomes more interesting is that if one is to assume that the galaxies are all moving apart from each other, then they must have been closer together in the past.  This is an essential concept for the Big Bang Theory--all matter and energy in the universe was compressed into a tiny point approximately 13.8 billion years ago.  It then "exploded" outward--though thinking of it as an explosion as we understand it doesn't actually illustrate what happened.  Space is literally flowing into existence between matter pockets.

What's even more interesting is that the relative level of red shift increases the further away you look.  One would assume that since gravity would be the only force acting on distant galaxies, they should be slowing down, ultimately coming to a stop, and hurling back together (proposed as a Big Crunch).  The exact opposite has been observed--galaxies are accelerating away from each other (and the universe is increasing in size at an increasing rate).  Since we have no force in our four fundamental force model (gravity, EM, strong, and weak nuclear), scientists have proposed something unseen is acting in the space between galaxies--dark energy. 

So one would have to argue that dark energy is the most compelling explanation of why the universe is expanding.