NEW GERMAN LAW

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 231, 12 September 1934, Page 7

NEW GERMAN LAW

Nazi Courts at Work

CATHOLIC OBJECTIONS

The Nazi cult of the race has led, logically ,to the legal introduction in Germany of sterilisation on a large scale (says the Berlin correspondent of the London “Daily Telegraph”). Its supporters have not been deterred by the disagreement on the subject which exists among competent medical authorities.

Tho law, passed in July, 1933, came into force at the beginning of this year, and persons suffering from imbecility, inherited epilepsy, bt. Vitus dance, blindness or deafness, and grave physical deformity or chronic alcoholism, are subject to its provisions. Special Courts have been established to decide doubtful cases. Thus some check is kept on healthy persons who, for selfish reasons, may wish to be made incapable of parenthood. A large proportion ol the “voluntary” cases are peasant women, who present fictitious cases of insanity in their ancestry to obtain the benefits of the operation.

The Court consists of three officials —a magistrate, a specially commissioned doctor, and a doctor with a special knowledge of inherited disease. All cases are tried in secret. An appeal is allowed to a higher Court — also specially constituted. Against the decision of this higher Court, however, there is no appeal. All operations are to be carried out in an improved hospital and by approved doctors.

The greatest uneasiness was caused by the provision of the law which laid down that the consent of the patient was not necessary, and that force might be used when unavoidable. Tho most scrions opposition to this law, however, has come from the Roman Catholiti The Church at once issued orders that no Roman Catholic doctor was to perform a sterilisation operation, and that no Roman Catholic nurse was to assist.

The Vatican, when pressed, was willing to allow sterilisatiou as a punishment in tho case of habitual criminals —but not otherwise.

It seemed at the beginning of this year that friction between -the Nazis and the Roman Catholics would be seriously increased by tho new law. As a matter of fact, it appears that the Nazis have shown more than their usual tact in the administration of the measure, and have not ridden roughshod over the conscientious scruples of the Roman Catholics. This is especially true in Bavaria. Tho pastoral letter prepared by the Roman Catholic bishops, which has not Vet been published, though it condemns with extreme severity many aspects of the Nazi regime, makes no reference to sterilisation.

On January 1, when the law camo into force, it was calculated that 400,006 German men and women were prospective “patients,” and that 1700 “hereditary disease Courts,” with 27 Courts of appeal, would have to be established to deal with them. It was expected that the operations on men would cost altogether £270,000, and those on women £650,000.

Professor Lenz, the leading authority on sterilisation. calculated, howe'er, that there would eventually be a great saving of money for the State through a reduction of those who suffer from hereditary disease and require support