Legacy
The Supreme Courtroom,1928. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Jacobson v. Massachusetts / legacy

Subsequent Cases
and the Evolving Debate

Jacobson v. Massachusetts became a legal precedent, being cited in 77 other Supreme Court cases. Although Jacobson v. Massachusetts set a boundary for government healthcare powers, these subsequent cases extended the government's power, allowing intervention when there was no emergency.

Vaccinated children at school,1922. Courtesy of Cascade PBS. 

1922

Zucht v. King

  • The San Antonio, Texas school district created an order requiring children to be vaccinated against smallpox in order to attend school.
  • Rosalyn Zucht argued that the order was unconstitutional because there was no public health emergency. 

 What is your opinion? Click here to compare your decision with the court's ruling. Supreme Court Ruling:
The Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of the school district, requiring all students to get vaccinated in order to go to school.

"These ordinances confer not arbitrary power, but only that broad discretion required for the protection of the public health."

- Associate Justice Louis Brandeis, in the majority opinion of Zucht v. King.

Carrie and Emma Buck. Courtesy of Encyclopedia Virginia. 

1927

Buck v. Bell

  • Carrie Buck was ordered to be sterilized under the Virginia Sterilization Act because she was considered mentally ill.
  • Dr. John H. Bell justified sterilizing female inmates, declaring that this measure would benefit the greater good by preventing future generations of children from being mentally ill. 

  What is your opinion? Click here to compare your decision with the court's ruling. Supreme Court Ruling:
The Court voted 8-1 in Bell’s favor resulting in the involuntary sterilization of thousands of female inmates. Eventually, Skinner v. Oklahoma discouraged sterilization, nullifying the consequences of Buck v. Bell.

"It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from breeding their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes...Three generations of imbeciles are enough."

- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in Buck v. Bell.

Protests to reopen churches in the US, 2020. Courtesy of the Bill of Health website. 

2020

South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom

  • When a California town banned mass indoor congregations, a local church argued that the restrictions on indoor religious services violated their right to free exercise of religion. 
  • During the case, California cited Jacobson v. Massachusetts to support their argument that restrictions were necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 What is your opinion? Click here to compare your decision with the court's ruling. Supreme Court Ruling:
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the church, so California changed its restrictions to comply to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

"California worries that worship brings people together for too much time. Yet, California does not limit its citizens to running in and out of other establishments; no one is barred from lingering in shopping malls, salons, or bus terminals."

- Justice Neil Gorsuch, in his opinion on South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom.