The ArgumentEugenics is generally regarded as evil; but what was its sin? Racism, class bias, and violation of reproductive freedom, which tainted objectionable eugenic interventions, are not part of the core notion of eugenics. A number of candidates have been suggested as the wrong inherent in eugenics, ranging from statism to the impossibility of consensus on the ideal human being. It is most plausible to view eugenics as sharing moral dilemmas with much of public health, and the critical issues as (...) those of distributive justice. (shrink)

Eugenics casts a long shadow over contemporary genetics. Any measure, whether in clinical genetics or biotechnology, which is suspected of eugenic intent is likely to be opposed on that ground. Yet there is little consensus on what this word signifies, and often only a remote connection to the very complex set of social movements which took that name. After a brief historical summary of eugenics, this essay attempts to locate any wrongs inherent in eugenic doctrines. Four candidates are examined and (...) rejected. The moral challenge posed by eugenics for genetics in our own time, I argue, is to achieve social justice. (shrink)

The ArgumentEugenics is the paradigmatic case of the conflict between biology and medicine over social influence. Commenting on as essay by Debora Kamrat–Lang(1995), the paper reconstructs the historical roots of eugenics as a form of preventive medicine. A comparision between the development of some crucial aspects of eugenics between Germany and the United States reveals that the prevalence of the value placed on the individual over hereditary health of a population ultimately determined the outcome of the conflict but collective concepts (...) may be revived by new biological knowledge. (shrink)