Hollander R
Ment Retard. 1989 Apr;27(2):53-61.
Current opinions on euthanasia of persons with mental retardation were discussed within the framework of the development of social policy towards this population. Historians of mental retardation have emphasized that incarceration and sterilization were the only two policy options available in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but a third option, euthanasia, was also suggested. The significance of the euthanasia option as the nation struggled to find a solution to the question of how to deal with what was thought to be a sharp rise in the number of people with mental retardation in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was examined. The responses of service providers to suggestions that euthanasia be implemented were reviewed. The rejection of proposals for euthanasia on moral and religious grounds and on the basis that custodial institutions, based on eugenics principles, were able to achieve the same end through a scientifically justifiable means was explored.
在针对这一人群的社会政策发展框架内，讨论了当前关于智力迟钝者安乐死的观点。智力迟钝问题历史学家强调，在19世纪末和20世纪初，监禁和绝育是仅有的两种政策选择，但也有人提出了第三种选择，即安乐死。研究了在19世纪末和20世纪初美国努力寻找如何应对被认为智力迟钝者数量急剧上升这一问题的解决方案时，安乐死这一选择的重要性。回顾了服务提供者对实施安乐死建议的回应。探讨了基于道德和宗教理由以及基于优生学原则的监护机构能够通过科学合理的手段实现相同目的这一理由而对安乐死提议的拒绝。
