Argumentative Essay On Eugenics

Eugenics, meaning “well born” is a term coined and a field created by Francis Galton, a British scientist. In 1869, Galton constructed pedigrees of leading English families using biographical information from obituaries and other sources and concluded that superior intelligence and abilities were inherited with an efficiency of 20%. From this research Galton theorized that if the fittest members of society were to have more children then humanity could be improved. In the early 1900s the eugenics movement gained much attention in the United States and lead to the rediscovery of Mendel’s experiment conducted in 1865, which explored the inheritance patterns of certain characteristics in pea plants. Since scientist, specifically animal breeders have been using disassortative mating for centuries in order to successfully improve their livestock; eugenics researchers believed they could carefully control human mating. Eugenics researchers believed that if mating could be controlled conditions like mental retardation and physical disabilities could be
As research continues to uncover new disease-causing mutations, the prospect of stopping the transmission of heritable diseases increases. With the use of modern technology, expecting parents can now be prescreened in order to determine their carrier status for certain diseases. Parents who choose to use in vitro fertilization are able to choose embryos that are free of disease due to preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Additionally, parents can be provided with information on their unborn child with the use of prenatal genetic testing. Some individuals view modern genetic technology as eugenic; however, this biggest difference between eugenics now and eugenics during the 1900s is consent. Today individuals pursue genetic testing by choice and policies on ethics and consent prevent reoccurrences of the immoral endeavors within the field of