Pregledni rad
THREE SINS OF EUGENICS: UNACCEPTABLE CONSTANTS OF AN ACCEPTED EUGENIC ACTIVITY
Teo Matković
Sažetak
In 1883 eugenics was defined by Francis Galton as an “effort orientated towards creating high–quality and healthy children”. Based on social Darwinism, the eugenic movement spead all over the Anglo–Saxon area at the beginning of the 20th century. Its methods involve both “education of masses” and sterilization of the unsuitable, where the genetic techinques have been combined with those typical of social domination. Even after the world witnessed the eugenic horrors of holocaust, the element of eugenics are still present in legislation, medicine and institutions such as genetic consulting. In the recent years the laissez–faire eugenics has become more popular, while the development od contemporary genetic technologies has triggered off new debates on eugenics from the mid–1980s on. Being always used to promote “advantages” corresponding with the political visions of its promoters – be them fascists, conservatives, liberals or socialist –, eugenics has earned a bad reputation. This is so because it has always appeared in the form of a coercive reproduction policy aiming at improved human genetic qualities, which has usually happened to the advandage of a single social group, and to the disadvantage of another. There are three main sins of eugenics: coercion, racism and classism. In order to enable a “sinless” use of genetic technology, one should – from case to case – pragmatically consider its medical, ethical and social implications. This should be done gradually and experimentally by inclucing the public and all kinds of experts.
Ključne riječi
history of eugenics; eugenic coercion; eugenic racism; eugenic classim
Hrčak ID:
141744
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.9.2000.
Posjeta: 6.966 *