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EugenicsDefining eugenics: “Improving human genetic qualities”Concepts in EugenicsSlide 4Governments and Eugenics in the 20th CenturySlide 6Methods of EugenicsBasic ethical issue:Eugenics Then and NowEugenicsDefining eugenics:“Improving human genetic qualities”•Eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention.Concepts in Eugenics•Intelligence and social class•Miscegenation (racial purity)•Hemophilia and Huntington’s Disease•Genetic defects•Positive vs. Negative Eugenics–encouraging vs. restricting reproduction–Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1968Governments and Eugenics in the 20th Century•Genetic screening•Birth control•Promotion differential birth rates•Marriage restrictions•Segregation (racial and mentally ill)•Forced abortions or pregnancies•GenocideMethods of Eugenics•Mandatory eugenics: government-mandated•Promotional voluntary eugenics: suggested to the general population•Private eugenics: voluntary participationBasic ethical issue:•Pro: Eugenics is a social responsibility, an altruistic stance of a society, meant to create healthier and more intelligent people, to save resources, and lessen human suffering.–Alexander Graham Bell, George Bernard Shaw, and Margaret Sanger •Con: Eugenics is based on pseudoscience and leads to discrimination, such as in Nazi Germany.–Winston Churchill•Is there a middle ground?Eugenics Then and Now•Then: Focus on selective breeding.•Now: Focus on prenatal testing and screening, genetic counseling, birth control, in vitro fertilization, and genetic


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VANDERBILT HON 182 - Study Notes

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