WHAT IS TO BE DONE? 109 



Probably the most serious difficulty to be overcome 

 before the practice of sterilization in any form could 

 come into general use would be the determining of 

 what persons were proper subjects to be operated upon. 1 



This difficulty arises from the fact that we are still 

 ignorant of the exact laws of inheritance. Just how 

 mental characteristics are transmitted from parent tc 

 child is not yet definitely known. It therefore becomes 

 a serious matter to decide beforehand that such and 

 such a person who has mental defect would certainly 

 transmit the same defect to his offspring and that 

 consequently he ought not to be allowed to have off- 

 spring. 



THE MENDELIAN LAW 



In 1866 an Austrian monk by the name of Gregor 

 Mendel discovered and published a law of inheritance 

 in certain plants, which, after lying practically unknown 

 for nearly forty years, was rediscovered in 1900 and 

 since then has been tested with regard to a great many 

 plants and animals. 



Mendel found that there were certain peculiarities 

 in plants which he termed "unit characters" that were 



1 At present eight states have laws authorizing some form of asexu- 

 alization or sterilization. But in all these cases the practice is carefully 

 restricted to a few inmates of various specified institutions. 



