In a world where people are categorized in different groups, there are people who have been looked downupon throughout history. Today these people are called individuals with disabilities. But in the past, wordssuch as idiots, morons, weak-minded and dullwitted, but also disturbance of the soul´s activity coulddepict this group of people.

From the time when the first sterilisation law from 1934 was initiated in 1935, to the year 1975 when itwas changed, around 63 000 people were sterilized in Sweden, of which approximately 95 % werewomen. The main motive behind the sterilisation laws from the 1930s to 1940s was to counteract thereproductive capacity of insane and mentally ill individuals, primarily for population policy and socialreasons. When the mentally retarded group was separated as different or deviant, this would be based onmedical, racial hygiene and moral aspects as well as through a certain social designation.

The main purpose of this essay is to see and investigate how aspects of power are expressed in the criticallines of arguments that are put forward in the debate on the sterilization laws between the years 1935 -1975.

The essays questions is based on the following lines of questions:

- Is it possible to examine, using a discourse theoretical perspective, whether aspects ofpower are expressed in the critical lines of argument in the sterilzation debate, or doesthis implication emerge on its own? 

- Are there any traces of exercise of power in the members' rhetoric?

The conclusion of this essay is that there is criticism in the debates, not criticism that directly points toremoving the laws, but indirect criticism which resulted in firstly the 1934 bill being introduced, to 1941srevised sterilisation act.