Marriage ban

In the late 19th century, the ideology of eugenics emerged in Finland, aimed at producing better-quality generations. The basic assumption within the movement was that the physical, mental, moral and social properties of offspring were determined by the laws of inheritance. Therefore, it was thought that by controlling procreation, the inheritance of undesired properties to the next generations could be prevented. In Finland, interest in eugenics arose in the early part of the 20th century.

The matter also became a topic of discussion within the deaf community in the 1920s. The deaf Laina Wainola wrote in the Kuuromykkäin Lehti magazine that medical sciences had shown that sensory disabilities and other hereditary conditions were caused by poor lifestyles. According to Wainola, science had proved true the words in the Bible, according to which God would bring the curse of a father’s sins upon even the third and fourth generation of children. Therefore, deafness was both a hereditary property and a punishment by God, which made it the responsibility of deaf people to remain childless to prevent the suffering from being passed on. Wainola was active in the deaf community, and it came as a surprise that she was so strongly in favour of eugenics. At the time, discussion on the topic did not continue in the magazine.

Interest in eugenics intensified as Finnish marriage laws were being reformed. During the preparations for the new marriage law, statements were collected from various experts, including from the medical field. A proposal for the new marriage law was completed in 1924 and it listed a few unconditional reasons to ban a marriage. In addition, it specified a few groups of people who would need a special dispensation from the president to marry. People who were born deaf belonged to this group. Permission to marry could be granted if the woman was past child-bearing age or if one of the spouses could not have children for some other reason. Deaf people who wanted to marry had to present a doctor’s certificate to prove that at least one of them had become deaf after birth.

Deaf people were quick respond to the claims about the hereditary nature of deafness. In 1927, the Kuuromykkäin Lehti magazine conducted a survey of active association members and deaf educators on their experiences of the inheritance of deafness and views on marriage restrictions. On the basis of the responses, it was concluded that because deafness could not be verified at birth, it was impossible to distinguish between congenital and hereditary deafness. A teacher at Turku’s school for the deaf estimated that 15–20% of deaf people had a hereditary condition. In addition, the respondents stressed that the vast majority of deaf people earned a living and were not a financial burden to society.

However, because eugenics had gained a strong foothold, the protests by deaf people had no impact. The proposal was passed into law in 1929 and discussion on the matter in the magazine abated. On the international level, the ban on marriage between people with congenital deafness was rare. The impact of the law became evident in the work of the ministers for the deaf as the number of wedding ceremonies they were asked to officiate decreased.