The Black Stork: Eugenics and the Death of "Defective" Babies in American Medicine and Motion Pictures since 1915 [Hardcover]

Martin S. Pernick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 1996

In the late 1910s Dr. Harry J. Haiselden, a prominent Chicago surgeon, electrified the nation by allowing the deaths of at least six infants he diagnosed as "defectives". He displayed the dying infants to journalists, wrote about them for the Hearst newspapers, and starred in a feature film about his crusade. Prominent Americans from Clarence Darrow to Helen Keller rallied to his support. Martin Pernick tells this captivating story--uncovering forgotten sources and long-lost motion pictures--in order to show how efforts to improve human heredity (eugenics) became linked with mercy killing, as well as with race, class, gender and ethnicity. It documents the impact of cultural values on science along with the way scientific claims of objectivity shape modern culture. While focused on early 20th century America, The Black Stork traces these issues from antiquity to the rise of Nazism, and to the "Baby Doe", "assisted suicide" and human genome initiative debates of today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this excellent book, Martin Pernick has resurrected the long-forgotten story of the Bollinger baby, Haiselden, and his movie, which was entitled The Black Stork. In so doing, Pernick gives us an essential historical perspective on two pressing issues: the possible abuses of new forms of genetic technology and physician-assisted suicide....[The] book breaks important new ground....By showing how eugenics was portrayed in the media and on film, Pernick gives a much more nuanced treatment of the topic than previous authors....There is little to criticize...Clearly written and copiously referenced."--Barron H. Lerner (Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons) in The New England Journal of Medicine

"A veritable page-turner whose unifying narrative thread is nothing less than infanticide....The scope of the book is as impressive as its argument."--Journal of the History of Medicine

"Fascinating...A thoughtful and comprehensive review of the history of eugenics...It will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the history of medicine, ethics, social policy, and film."

"Pernick's rich analysis of The Black Stork breaks new ground, for it successfully addresses contemporary concerns while also shedding significant new light on the early eugenics movement, the early film industry, and the surprising connections between the two."--Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"For those interested in the history of eugenics and euthanasia in the United States, Pernick's book is a must...In terms of its attention to the influence of medical ideas on mass culture and of film on medicine, this book is a landmark."--Annals of Internal Medicine

"Pernick has done a remarkable job of accumulating and analyzing...material...Pernick describes the linkage of eugenics, euthanasia, and films in a lucid and engaging way....The Black Stork is an excellent book. Scholars, students, and other people interested in disablity studies will find it engaging, eye-opening, and relevant."--American Journal on Mental Retardation

"A most frightening tale of medicine run amok. Martin Pernick's narrative of Dr. Harry J. Haiselden's fin-de-siecle crusade for the euthanasia of 'defective' children is a tale of the tangled pathway of science in its pursuit of social ends. Since these questions have arisen in more sophisticated form with the knowledge achieved daily through the human genome project, Pernick's narrative is a strong warning about the slippery slope of determining what life is worth living."--Sander L. Gilman, University of Chicago

"This is an excellent book whose appeal should extend to general readers interested in film and the public role of science, as well as to historians of medicine and film and to social and cultural historians."--Journal of Social History

"...Pernick's study is highly original and should interest social and cultural historians as well as film historians."--American Historical Review

About the Author

Martin S. Pernick, Professor of History, University of Michigan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 295 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195077318
• ISBN-13: 978-0195077315
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable book on an early eugenics/euthanasia physician, May 13, 2001

By 

K. L Sadler "Dr. Karen L. Sadler" (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Black Stork: Eugenics and the Death of "Defective" Babies in American Medicine and Motion Pictures since 1915 (Hardcover)

This is one of those extraordinary book finds that comes about through sheer serendipity. This book was not recommended, was not widely read, but had been listed as a reference in another book in my readings about the historical context of the medical holocaust which happened here in the United States prior to Nazi Germany's excursion into hell. The title and slight mention given in a bibliography made me stop what I was doing and head for Amazon.com to find out what the book was about. The slight blurb was enough to pique my interest and I sent for the book.

This book is one of the most unique stories I have read in the onslaught of material on the eugenicists and their prejudicial science. Pernick is a historical biographer of medical practicioners and of the early films produced promoting eugenic ideals. During the early 1900's an American physician, Haiselden, very publicly 'allowed' a new-born infant with disabilities to die through withholding food, water, and surgical treatment. This occurrence was not an unusual one for physicians in general. Infanticide had occurred on one level or another, by physicians, midwives, and parents for years especially when infants were disabled and the families were poor. The difference lay in how this particular physican handled the media attention he received. This man courted the media to promote his views on physician assisted killing when children were born with disabilities or deformities. He went even farther and 'starred' in a film which portrayed the situation and the accompanying ethics as held by eugenicists and those who proposed euthanasia for the unwanted in the United States.

The history of early film-making coincides with the major years of influence of American eugenicists. This is history which has been forgotten, which is not on display at the Smithsonian museum, and is only mentioned by the Eugenics ARchive at Cold Spring Harbor. This book is of deep historical importance, and the author does a wonderful job of tying in the influence of the media and science on social movements. Pernick does an outstanding job of presenting the facts involved with as little emotional or critical writing, so the reader are free to develop their own opinions. The research and the restoration of these films (still pictures from the film are included) to the American public is a phenomenol job and this book should be on the list of recommendations for those in biomedical ethics, in medical care, disability rights activists, and film enthusiasts. It is only by remembering this history, and American participation in it, that we can even hope to avoid this from happening again, especially with the completion of the Human Genome Project and the push for physician assisted suicide, as well as the promotion of utilitarian ethics in a world of scarce medical resources...

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Insights Into American Culture, April 9, 2008

By 

Kurt (Bethesda, MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Black Stork: Eugenics and the Death of "Defective" Babies in American Medicine and Motion Pictures since 1915 (Paperback)

This is a very well written and fascinating book that exposes a side of American history that is little remembered today, but was a dominant strain in American culture in the teens and twenties, and exerted a shadow influence on American public policy for decades thereafter, if not until the present day. I discovered this book in the course of doing research for a writing project in my third year of law school -- it was not entirely on-point, but so engaging I couldn't put it down! Has some very helpful illustrations, too. Highly recommended.

P.S. I don't understand the Amazon reviewer who criticized this book for its supposedly poor writing style. I am, alas, all too familiar with poor academic writing. Pernick, the author of this book, is first-rate, though admittedly, this is not a book for children.