The Black Stork, also known as Are You Fit To Marry?, is a 1917 American motion picture film both written by and starring Harry J. Haiselden, who was the chief surgeon at the German-American Hospital in Chicago.

[1] The Black Stork is Haiselden's fictionalized account of his eugenic infanticide of John Bollinger, who was born with severe disabilities.

[2] The film depicts Haiselden's fictionalized story of a woman who has a nightmare of a severely disabled child being a menace to society.

The purpose was to basically warn people, especially teenagers, of the dangers of sexual promiscuity and "race mixing", as these actions were believed to be the cause of disabilities in children.

Through this way of thinking, a majority of people agreed with Haiselden's actions and enforced the idea that doctors have the right to decide whether a disabled child should live.

He was born with no neck or right ear[dubious – discuss], as well as a severe skin ailment, all determined to be the result of syphilis passed on from the father.

[3] After treating children with disabilities for many years at the American-German Hospital, he saw the severity of John Bollinger's condition and took it upon himself[ambiguous] to advise Anna that the quality of life for her son will only get worse as he grows up.

[6] He confided in her that he has the skill set to surgically repair his defects and save the child's life, however he has experience with similar cases and convinced her that it was in the best interest for John to just let him die naturally.

[3] Out of fear for her son's future quality of life, the mother ultimately decided to follow Haiselden's advice and agreed that the best course of action is infanticide, instead of allowing him to grow up and deal with the disabilities in his adult years.

Still, the Chicago Medical Society expelled Haiselden from their membership for The Black Stork film and the publicity that he sought out after the infanticide.

[8] The film revolves around a fictional Dr. Dickey, played by and based on Haiselden himself, who is called in to operate in order to save the life of a "defective" child.

[12] Others justified their protest on the fact that the main purpose of a doctor should be to heal patients and make sure they live as long as they can, not the opposite[citation needed].