COMPENSATION for victims of eugenics will once again be on the list of legislative items the General Assembly will be debating when it convenes in January. Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, and Del. Patrick A. Hope, D-Arlington, are hopeful the legislation they introduced last year--HB 1529, the Justice for Victims of Sterilization Act--will be adopted this year and provide restitution to the approximately 7,325 who are still living and were involuntarily sterilized between 1924 and 1979.

As background, eugenics was the name Francis Galton, half cousin of Charles Darwin, gave to the research program, which he developed in 1883 to improve society through "selective breeding." He was committed to the belief that "human talent and character," more popularly known as intelligence, was genetically determined, and he spent the rest of his life attempting to demonstrate that heredity was the critical factor, rather than environment.

Thus, he proposed that individuals in the upper class (top 2 percent) should marry and procreate with those of the same class. In fact, it is Galton who coined the term "nature vs. nurture."

Herbert Spencer, a philosopher and scientist, a contemporary of Galton and a fellow hereditarian, formulated the expression "survival of the fittest," which most people incorrectly attributed to Darwin.

The zeitgeist during the late 19th century and first quarter of the 20th century provided a perfect storm for policymakers supporting "social Darwinism" (also incorrectly attributed to Darwin). They formulated this theory to justify the inevitability of class differences.

Social Darwinists were equipped with eugenics, the theory of survival of the fittest and restrictive immigration policies (the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924) as a means of controlling minorities, the poor and persons with disabilities.

HERE AT HOME

One of the chief proponents of eugenics and sterilization was E. Lee Trinkle, governor of Virginia from 1922-1926. Under his administration, Virginia passed the Virginia Eugenical Sterilization Act of 1924 and the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Both of these laws were eugenics-related: The first law was aimed at forced sterilization, and the second law "defined a white person as having no trace of black blood and made it illegal for whites and non-Caucasians to marry."

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Justice at last for victims of sterilization?