Halliday Sutherland
"A born writer, especially a born story-teller. Dr. Sutherland, who is distinguished in medicine, is an amateur in the sense that he only writes when he has nothing better to do. But when he does, it could hardly be done better." G.K. Chesterton.
Speaking out against the servile state
When Dr Halliday Sutherland spoke out against eugenics, his views were contrary to those of the most influential people in Britain: George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, John Maynard Keynes, Lloyd George, Karl Pearson, Sir James Barr and Marie Stopes.
Sutherland wasn’t part of that set, and likely his views would have been ignored by them but for a writ for libel. It wasn’t so much the writ, so much as who it was from: accomplished scientist, author of the best-seller, Married Love, and founder of Britain’s first birth control clinic: Dr. Marie Carmichael Stopes.
Soon after his legal battle began, Sutherland ran out of money and faced the prospect of defending himself in Court…against one of the best K.C.s in the country: Sir Leslie Scott. When you consider that Sutherland had recently married and was raising a young family, you wonder why he did it. The answer is in this infographic.
If you would like to download a copy of the infographic, click this link: Speaking out against the servile state (opens in a new tab). Please feel free to display it, share it, etc. but do not alter it in any way.
The “Fact Check file” for the information given in this infographic can be accessed by clicking here (opens in a new tab).
“Negative” (and “positive”) eugenics explained here (opens in a new tab).
©Mark Sutherland 2018