Eugenics - Ethical or Evil?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Inseriousity.

Having a disability does not have to define a person's life. It'll be there, we can't ignore it, and raising a child with a disability, especially if it's a particularly nasty one, is never easy but it can have its own rewards. As with everything in life, there are good times and bad times. I can't stand the quality of life argument (I know you didn't argue this, I'm just rambling now) because you won't know what quality of life they'll have until they've been given the chance to live it.

---

I totally understand and my brother (the one with the disorder) would agree - he says he's glad that he was the one who got it instead of me or our cousins and that he's glad he was born and had the chance to be a father. Just cause he's not physically able to do stuff and even though his life is cut short, he will probably live a better life than someone born "normal". So I do agree. But on the other hand, seeing how it has devastated my mum (who blames herself because if she knew about the disorder, she wouldn't have had children. She's also against abortion so she would have decided to not have children at all) and other family members, that's where my choice to abort/not reproduce has come from.

A domestic house cat is evil from a pigeons perspective.

I do not approve of this idea if it were to be government enforcing it. It shouldn't be the governments right to physically alter someone in this kind of way and is ultimately authoritarian which is very much against my views. They should, on the other hand, offer those who choose to get abortions/sterilsations the chance to do so. However, government and the state should not be involved further than this if someone has willingly brought a "deformed" child into the world they know will take up these resources. If the parents are willing to pay for all the treatment and that out of pocket, then good for them and everyone is the winner but I see no reason why I should be when, to a certain extent, it is self inflicted. Though, if they were unaware of the disabilities beforehand then do I sympathise. Obviously this way of thinking is unenforceable for many reasons but that's my personal view.

Half of me wishes disorders never existed because nobody would have to be in pain and/or struggle at the beginning or a bit later in life (or in many cases until the end) physically or mentally, but the other half of me knows that people with disorders in the past and present have used their disorder in a way to make a difference for others around them, the world, and/or themselves in a positive way. If a parent(s) decides to keep a child knowing that they have a disability or a possibility that they could have one (genetic or not) then yes it will be tough and they'll need to be ready for those challenges ahead.

Saying this, I'm sure that anybody would want their children or any child to be healthy in every way and live with zero disorders, but it just isn't right for someone else to have that ability to decide who gets to have children and who doesn't because the choice goes to each person themselves and like I've already said that child could make a positive difference in many ways.

Already talked to you about this yesterday Jenny because I could see where both point of views about eugenics (pro and anti) are coming from, but at the same time I was overthinking eugenics as a whole in my mind (then again I tend to over-think things lol) so my mind was in a bit of a whirl. Talking about it really did clear up some things for me though, thank you. :Mini-Smile:

My opinion on abortion was actually changed with eugenics a while ago now. On reading the similarities between those who justified abortion on medical grounds and how in the 1930s the unborn were made out to be non-human it opened my eyes to how humans will decieve themselves on the most appalling acts to justify what they are doing. In terms of eugenics itself, I am not totally against helping make sure the most awful diseases and conditions aren't inflicted down the generations but the ideal of achieving human perfection is a scary one as we've seen before. It's always the case that utopian visions are splattered with blood and I would wonder how far off we'd be from the stage where we start aborting the unborn based on the slightest imperfection... as well as the scientific consequences down the line when you mess with the work of God in the creation of mankind.

It's like with euthanasia how i've become more sceptical over time. Innocent human life is so precious and should be protected to the maximum.