Sterilization Act of 1924

The passage of the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 [4] demonstrates how science has been used to drive policy throughout history. In the case of the Virginia sterilization [5] law, the science used to draft the law was based on the principles of eugenics [6]. With the help of Harry Laughlin?s Model Sterilization Law [7], the state of Virginia was able to pass its own law allowing sterilization [5] of the feebleminded, expressing sterilization [5] as a health issue that needed to be protected from the public.