Eugenics and Genetic Testing

Bibliographic Data

ID4516389
AuthorsNeil A Holtzman (Johns Hopkins University, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume11
Issue3-4
Pages397-417
Publication date1998-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889700003100
PMID15168670
OpenAlexW2137265838
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited55

The ArgumentPressures to lower health-care costs remain an important stimulus to eugenic approaches. Prenatal diagnosis followed by abortion of affected fetuses has replaced sterilization as the major eugenic technique. Voluntary acceptance has replaced coercion, but subtle pressures undermine personal autonomy. The failure of the old eugenics to accurately predict who will have affected offspring virtually disappears when prenatal diagnosis is used to predict Mendelian disorders. However, when prenatal diagnosis is used to detect inherited susceptibilities to adult-onset, common, complex disorders, considerable uncertainty is inherent in the prediction. Intolerance and the resurgence of genetic determinism are current pressures for a eugenic approach. The increasing use of carrier screening (to identify those at risk of having affected offspring) and of prenatal diagnosis could itself generate intolerance for those who refuse the procedures. Genetic determinism deflects society from social action that would reduce the burden of disease far more than even the maximum use of eugenics

Abortion · Autonomy · Biology · Determinism · Developmental psychology · Disease · Eugenics · Fetus · Genetic counseling · Genetic testing · Maladaptation · Offspring · Political science · Pregnancy · Prenatal diagnosis · Psychiatry · BRCA gene mutations in cancer · Law · Medicine · Prenatal Screening and Diagnostics · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Genetics

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