Carrie Buck
| Carrie Buck | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Carrie Elizabeth Buck July 3, 1906 Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | January 28, 1983 (aged 76) Waynesboro, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery, Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | Vivian Buck (1924–1932) |
Carrie Elizabeth Buck (July 3, 1906 – January 28, 1983) was the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell, after having been ordered to undergo compulsory sterilization for purportedly being "feeble-minded." The surgery, carried out while Buck was an inmate of the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, took place under the authority of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, part of the state of Virginia's eugenics program.
Carrie Buck was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, the first of three children born to Emma Buck; she was soon joined by a half-sister, Doris Buck, and a half-brother, Roy Smith. Little is known about Emma Buck other than that she was poor and married to Frederick Buck, who shortly into their marriage abandoned her. Emma was committed to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded after being accused of immorality, prostitution, and having syphilis.
After her birth, Carrie Buck was placed with foster parents, John and Alice Dobbs. She attended public school and was noted to be an average student. Buck stopped attending school in the sixth grade, upon which point the Dobbs removed her from school in order to have her help with housework.
At 17, Buck became pregnant as a result of being raped. Subsequently, on January 23, 1924, Buck’s foster parents had committed her to the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded on the grounds of feeblemindedness, incorrigible behavior and promiscuity. On March 28, 1924, she gave birth to a daughter, Vivian. Since Buck had been declared mentally incompetent to raise her child, her former foster parents adopted the baby. Her commitment may have been due to the family's embarrassment because Carrie's pregnancy was the result of being raped by the Dobbs’s nephew.
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