Georgia is the last state to enact sterilization legislation

1937 Georgia’s General Assembly first attempt at passing a sterilization bill in 1935 was vetoed by then Governor Eugene Talmadge. An amended version of the bill was reintroduced in 1937, and was signed into law by the newly appointed Governor E.D. Rivers.

Georgia’s law was modelled after California’s, and was aimed at institutionalized individuals who “would be likely, if released without sterilization, to procreate a child, or children, who would have a tendency to serious physical, mental, or nervous disease or deficiency.” The recommendation of the superintendent of an institution was required for sterilization, and that recommendation then had to be approved by Georgia’s State Board of Eugenics.

Like South Carolina, eugenic practices were not immediately accepted in Georgia. Georgia’s culture placed a strong emphasis on the importance of familial relationships, and citizens of the state took issue with government interference with parental rights, except in cases of extreme neglect. The religious culture also created extended families beyond blood relatives, which offered support to the disadvantaged. Further, as was the case in other Deep South states, Georgia had a relatively small number of urban middle-class and educated citizens, meaning that progressivism—a political movement that promoted eugenics ideas—did not hold as much sway.

Despite it’s slow start, approximately 3,200 people were sterilized in Georgia between 1937 and 1963, making Georgia responsible for the fifth highest number of sterilizations in the United States.

-Caroline Lyster

Georgia is the last state to enact sterilization legislation

1937 Georgia’s General Assembly first attempt at passing a sterilization bill in 1935 was vetoed by then Governor Eugene Talmadge. An amended version of the bill was reintroduced in 1937, and was signed into law by the newly appointed Governor E.D. Rivers.

Georgia’s law was modelled after California’s, and was aimed at institutionalized individuals who “would be likely, if released without sterilization, to procreate a child, or children, who would have a tendency to serious physical, mental, or nervous disease or deficiency.” The recommendation of the superintendent of an institution was required for sterilization, and that recommendation then had to be approved by Georgia’s State Board of Eugenics.

Like South Carolina, eugenic practices were not immediately accepted in Georgia. Georgia’s culture placed a strong emphasis on the importance of familial relationships, and citizens of the state took issue with government interference with parental rights, except in cases of extreme neglect. The religious culture also created extended families beyond blood relatives, which offered support to the disadvantaged. Further, as was the case in other Deep South states, Georgia had a relatively small number of urban middle-class and educated citizens, meaning that progressivism—a political movement that promoted eugenics ideas—did not hold as much sway.

Despite it’s slow start, approximately 3,200 people were sterilized in Georgia between 1937 and 1963, making Georgia responsible for the fifth highest number of sterilizations in the United States.

-Caroline Lyster