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443) Doris Buck Figgins

Courtesy of Buck v Bell

443: Doris Buck Figgins

Victim of the Eugenics Movement in the United States

Born: 17 August 1911, Virginia, United States of America

Died: 13 June 1982, Berryville, Virginia, United States of America

Like her more famous sister Carrie, Doris was forcibly sterilized under Virginia law because she was an “Imbecile”; and neither she nor Carrie were aware of that fact until decades later. Doris had spent years struggling to conceive and have children with her husband, completely unaware of the truth. In fact, Doris had been told she had her appendix removed; in actuality the scar she carried on her abdomen was actually from her sterilization.

Her early life was also similar to her sister Carrie’s, growing up in various foster homes or Virginia state hospitals for those deemed “feeble minded”. Medical records indicate Doris was sterilized aged seventeen, around the year 1928, but would not be told the truth of her operation until the 1970’s.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen

Sources:

The Imbeciles book listed above

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Buck-5471

http://buckvbell.com/gallery.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195048136/doris-virginia-figgins

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