text:  But she couldn't not consider the time during which Helen wrote some of these things. As Haben pointed out, this was the height of the eugenics movement. Universities were teaching pro-eugenics courses. More and more states were passing sterilization laws. This was just the backdrop to Helen's life. And it was also in the foreground. She was in deeply ableist circles. If you're in certain circles and you hear things over and over again, you start to believe it.