The New England Journal of Medicine“Ridding the Race of His Defective Blood” — Eugenics in the Journal, 1906–1948

Historical Insights on Eugenics: Tracing Medical Advocacy and Its Impact

This article takes a deep dive into the historical engagement of the medical community with the eugenics movement, particularly through the lens of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, later renamed the New England Journal of Medicine. It explores the advocacy for eugenic practices by prominent physicians and the broader medical establishment, highlighting the implications of these ideologies on public health policies and societal attitudes from the early 20th century to the post-World War II era.

Key Points:

• Dr. William Mayo, speaking at Boston City Hospital in 1923, exemplified medical endorsement of eugenics, linking poverty and crime to hereditary traits and advocating for sterilization and immigration restrictions.
• The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (now the New England Journal of Medicine) played a significant role in normalizing eugenic thought among physicians, publishing numerous articles supporting eugenic ideologies from the early 1900s to the 1940s.
• Eugenic themes in the Journal focused on three main areas: the perceived social burden of mental defectives, the need to restrict immigration of “defective” foreigners, and the promotion of eugenic sterilization as a medical intervention.
• The Journal supported laws preventing marriage among people deemed unfit for parenthood and endorsed eugenic sterilization, often framing these measures as paths to societal improvement and economic efficiency.
• Articles in the Journal reflected broader support within the US medical community for eugenic policies, including immigration restriction and the sterilization of individuals considered socially inadequate.
• The Journal’s editorial stance often mirrored the harshest eugenics rhetoric, advocating for drastic measures like sterilization to eliminate perceived hereditary defects from the population.
• Even as late as the 1940s, the Journal continued to publish content supporting eugenics, despite a growing chorus of critique against the movement, particularly in light of the Nazi sterilization program.
• The article concludes by acknowledging the medical profession’s significant influence on public attitudes and policies regarding eugenics and calls for continued vigilance against similar biases today.

“If the lay mind is ripe for such drastic measures we see no reason for the scientists to object.”
– From the Journal’s 1913 endorsement of eugenic surgery

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