Eugenics

K.Jeyanthi Shanmugam
Associate Professor
RVS College of Nursing,Sulur,coimbatore
 Francis Galton
• “Father” of Eugenics
• The wordeugenics is derived from
the Greek word eu ("good" or
"well") and the genēs ("born"),
• Inspired by Darwin’s On the Origin
of Species
• Believed biology responsible for not
just physical characteristics but
mental as well
 Definition of Eugenics
• is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at
improving the genetic quality of the human
population
The American Eugenics movement
• Stemmed from Social Darwinism and Galton’s
ideas
• At height in the 1920’s
• Many became convinced that traits like
intelligence, sexual orientation and criminality
were caused by bad blood
Murderous Racial Hygiene, 1939–1945
• The first victims were German infants and
children. Expert physicians evaluated each
case and, usually without seeing the potential
victims, selected those to be killed.
• Officials deceived the children’s families by
providing falsified causes of death. From 1939
to 1945, more than 5,000 boys and girls were
killed in some 30 special children’s wards
established at state hospitals and clinics.
• In October 1939, after Hitler authorized
“mercy deaths” for patients deemed
“incurable,” the murder program expanded
from children to adults.
• Men and women were killed by carbon
monoxide poisoning in gas chambers
disguised as showers.
• Patients were killed by means of starvation
diets and overdoses of medication in
hospitals and mental institutions
throughout the country.
• From 1939 to 1945, an estimated 200,000
persons were killed in the various
euthanasia programs.
 Implementation methods
• According to Richard Lynn, eugenics may be
divided into two main categories based on the
ways in which the methods of eugenics can be
applied.
 Negative eugenics
– Negative eugenics by provision of information and
services, i.e. reduction of unplanned pregnancies and
births .
• Promoting the use of contraception
• Sterilization
• Abortion.
– Negative eugenics by incentives, coercion and
compulsion.
• Incentives for sterilization.
• Incentives for women on welfare to use contraception
• Sterilization of the "mentally retarded"
• Sterilization of female criminals
• Sterilization of male criminals
 Positive eugenics

• Financial incentives to have children

• Selective incentives for childbearing
• Taxation of the childless
 New Eugenics
• Artificial insemination by donor
• Egg donation
• Prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders and
pregnancy terminations of defective fetuses
• Embryo selection
• Genetic engineering
• Gene therapy
• Cloning
•