A New Eugenics

I have posted about eugenics in the past. The word eugenics is a compound word formed by the merging of two Greek words for "good" (eu) and "genes" (genics). Note the common prefix of "eu" (good) also used in the word Euthanasia ("good death").

In the past, eugenics included (but not restricted to) the practice of abortion and forced sterilization procedures. Today, it is taking on a whole new face. Frighteningly, what used to be deemed fascist - almost torture - is now something voluntarily embraced by the unborn's strongest ally - their parents.

In 1992, the March of Dimes conducted a survey. Their poll concluded that 11% of parents would would abort a fetus if their genome showed a predisposition towards obesity! Four out of five parents said they would abort a fetus if the child was going to grow up with a disability. 43% said they would use the genetic engineering available to them to enhance their child's physical appearance.

That was 1992 - this is 2008. What do these statistics look like now after 15 years of media influence? Films that glorify assisted suicide are handed Oscars for Best Picture -- when such tales, 50 years ago, would have sent our grandfathers to the battlefield and physicians to prison.

These March of Dimes statistics were found on page 183 of the book, "Does God Need Our Help? Cloning, Assisted Suicide, & Other Challenges in Bioethics" by John F. Kilner and C. Ben Mitchell. The book is a part of the Vital Questions series put out by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. They also have a website and a daily (free) downloadable podcast. Their website is: http://www.cbhd.org/

"The word "compassion" comes from the joining of two Latin words meaning "suffering with" - which is precisely what we stop doing when we encourage or participate in assisted suicide or euthanasia" (Kilner & Mitchell, p. 134). [Author's note: or abortion or genome-influenced genetic interference].