Eitel was an active member of a eugenics society and he and his nephew are remembered for carrying out early surgical sterilizations.

[1] He married Jeannette E. Larsen (born July 6, 1875, in Mona, Iowa) in Sioux Falls in January 1908.

He worked for Asbury, and for Saint Barnabas and City hospitals (both now Hennepin County Medical Center).

[7] After the U.S. entered World War I, Eitel and his wife were the subject of anti-German persecution and wild rumors.

According to The Medical Fortnightly, in one 24-hour period reports emerged that:[8] And separately, that he, another surgeon, and their nurses had been shot at sunrise at Fort Snelling.

[8] The United States Department of Justice intervened on their behalf, and Eitel published a denial, pledging his loyalty to the U.S. in the Minneapolis Evening-Journal.

[8] Minnesota's eugenics law of 1925, targeting the institutionalized intellectually disabled and insane, sought to stop the births of children who might become public dependents.

[11] Molly Ladd-Taylor writes that "the responsibilities of the [other] medical men were more professional and longer-lasting," noting that of course "a surgeon was necessary to perform" the sterilizations.

[10][15] In actuality, the women diagnosed as "feeble minded" may have experienced disability, poverty, family violence, incest, or sexual abuse.