Main description:

Strategies or decisions aimed at affecting, in a manner considered to be positive, the genetic heritage of a child in the context of human reproduction are increasingly being accepted in contemporary society. As a result, unnerving similarities between earlier selection ideology so central to the discredited eugenic regimes of the 20th century and those now on offer suggest that a new era of eugenics has dawned. The time is ripe, therefore, for considering and evaluating from an ethical perspective both current and future selection practices. This inter-disciplinary volume blends research from embryology, genetics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and history. In so doing, it constructs a thorough picture of the procedures emerging from today's reproductive developments, including a rigorous ethical argumentation concerning the possible advantages and risks related to the new eugenics.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

A Note on the Text

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Introduction

Chapter 1. The History of Eugenics

Chapter 2. General Introduction to Eugenic Procedures

Chapter 3. General Ethical Discussion

Chapter 4. Arguments Supporting the New Eugenics

Chapter 5. Arguments Opposing the New Eugenics

Conclusion

Appendix I: Past and Present Personalities Supporting Eugenic Policies

Appendix II: Scottish Council on Human Bioethics Recommendations on Eugenics

Glossary of Terms

Bibliography