Along with throwing out an Oklahoma sterilization law, Douglas’ opinion in Skinner v. Oklahoma is also considered one of the first steps toward the recently repealed Roe v. Wade, a
Eugenics beliefs led to 60 years of forced sterilizations in Oregon; Social Protection board finally disbanded in 1983
Updated May 10, 2021;
Posted May 10, 2021
A Puck magazine cover in 1913 showcased how eugenics stood at the center of intellectual and political discussion. (Library of Congress)
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Bethenia Owens-Adair overcame a wave of hardships early in her life to earn a medical degree and become one of Oregon’s first practicing women doctors. She was a heroine of the state’s women’s-rights movement as well, with one newspaper in 1906 calling her “a central figure in the making of Oregon history.”
In the years that followed that effusive praise, she would extend her influence into public-health policymaking.