The “scientific” theory of eugenics was born in 1869 thanks to Francis Galton. Galton, a hereditary genius and cousin of Charles Darwin, believed that behavior and characteristics were passed down hereditarily from generation to generation. For example, according to eugenics, poor women conceived poor children and rich women conceived rich children. Eugenics targeted individuals who did not fit the idea of ​​the ideal American and women who challenged social normality through employment. Americans embraced eugenics in the face of immigration and the crisis of masculinity in the early 20th century. President Teddy Roosevelt supported the theory of eugenics, even comparing soldiers' duty to fight to women's duty to have children. After World War II and knowledge of the genocide of millions of Jews became well known, pro-eugenicists insisted that Hitler's actions had completely overtaken the theory of eugenics. States that had used eugenic language and laws, such as Virginia and California, began to decrease the use of such language and laws. However, not all states have followed this decline. Instead, North Carolina increased the use of this legislation and sterilized approximately 7,600 women after World War II.[1] Individuals, such as doctors, social workers, and members of the Eugenics Council, who believed in eugenics and practiced sterilization, believed that sterilization of young women was justified and desired. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayThe theory of eugenics, based on the basis of "science", allowed doctors to develop ways to make sterilization surgery easier and affordable. Sterilization techniques for women, unlike vasectomies for men, carry a higher risk. In the 1930s, sterilization became the primary source of contraception following the Great Depression. In order to be sterilized, the women underwent surgery and had to stay in the hospital for days to recover, while the operation for the men lasted about 15 minutes and then they returned home. Doctors developed laparoscopy and culdoscopy as less intrusive ways to sterilize women, making sterilization more popular and safer. Following the Hathaway v. Worchester case, insurance companies began to financially assist sterilization due to the fact that it cost less to maintain. This was compared to the birth control pill, which carried a monthly fee, while sterilization was a one-time payment. In North Carolina, doctors' perspectives toward eugenics and sterilization seemed distant, but some believed the actions they were taking were in society's best interest. The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, now known as the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and located in North Carolina, "opened the nation's first department of medical genetics in 1941", under the direction by Dr. William Allan.[2] This department focused on negative eugenics, which aimed to prevent certain groups, minorities and disabled people, from procreating. Some doctors began to question their sterilization orders in the 1960s. Dr. AV Blount, who had assisted in the sterilization of many women but did not recall ever sterilizing a woman, said that he "had the feeling that....