Firstly a positive article on Eugenics by someone with the last name of "Goering" immediately gives rise to an eyebrow, does it not?
The article does address some pertinent questions, but ignores other foundational assumptions and issues from the beginning that render it's judgements a foregone conclusion.
After noting that Eugenics:
historical connotations tie it to the selective breeding programs, horrifying concentration camps, medical experiments, and mass exterminations promoted by Germany's Nazi regime in World War II.
Goering slips in the dubious assertion in the form of question that we have a:
"moral obligation" to "encourage them (parents) to ensure their children have good genes".
The question is then put, not whether we should engage in Eugenics, but how far we might go before crossing the line into: "the clearly morally impermissible eugenic programs of the past?"
Goering then introduces a new Kinder, Gentler, "Liberal Eugenics" that is:
based upon individual free choice, pluralist values, and up-to-date scientific understanding of genetics and epigenetics. Furthermore, advocates of liberal eugenics aim to be sensitive to the effects of problematic but deeply entrenched social problems (e.g., racism, sexism, heterosexism) on individual choice.
All this is supposed to ease any fear that the old Eugenics of the past will never again rear it's ugly head. The problems associated with implementing this New "Liberal Eugenics" are almost too numerous to mention although to be fair she does touch on a few of them at the end of the article.
The next paragraph is key as she assures us that the "scientists" have everything under control. This is no more true today as it was when we were assured by the Nazis that everything they were doing was according to the best "Science of the day". Indeed there is zero discussion of the ethical dilemma of Eugenic utilization of abortion to rid the world of Human Weeds or of the ethical problem of performing medical experiments on a live Human Embryos, never mind killing those Human Embryos so they can be harvested of their Stem Cells! Paging Dr. Josef Mengele to the Lab! Also not addressed are the ideas of inserting foreign plant and animal genes into designer Humans that will fundamentally alter what it means to be a Human Being. This is "Wrath of Kahn" " Master Race" stuff that progressives have been dreaming about for decades.
"Indeed, scientific advances of the last several decades—years that include the advent of in vitro fertilization, the funding and completion of the Human Genome Project, creation of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), and expansions of pre-implantation screening and prenatal testing panels—provide not only more precise understandings of genes and their role in shaping phenotypes and gene-environment interactions, but also a multitude of possibilities for intervention in the process of reproduction. How ought we to use this new knowledge and capacity?"
In short this article is not balanced and it is not fair. It is instead an advocacy for opening the Pandoras Box of the Eugenic manipulation of Human beings to create whatever "Science" can and whatever Government wants us to be. Don't be fooled by all the hollow assurances about "best intentions" and "personal choice", all that will be thrown out the window in a heartbeat once these practices are established. The Government will simply step in to mandate and control under the guise of "saving the Planet" or some other lame excuse. If allowed, this New and improved "Liberal Eugenics" will make the Nazis look like rank amateurs. |
