Eugenics and You

Eugenics is not an oft-used word in my conversations. And probably not in yours either.

But the influence of eugenics and the theology behind it is increasingly influencing our lives.

Eugenics is defined as: “the study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding. Formed from the Greek prefix eu – meaning ‘good,’ and a root word that means ‘to produce’ — the same root from which we derive the word gynecology, eugenics means literally ‘good product, good birth products.’”

That may not seem too terribly controversial. Yet in history it became attached to practices that were horrific and frightening. Eugenics began to flourish in the U.S. and Europe in the early 20th century and became the foundation for the Nazi atrocities of World War II. Hitler and his minions used eugenics as the rational for exterminating those who were “unfit to live” in an effort to create a “good product” — preventing the births of “undesirable people,” and exterminating “undesirable people” who had the “misfortune” to be born.

Astoundingly, even with the revelation of the Nazi atrocities, eugenics was not only not discredited, but it is still with us, even thriving all the more.

Of course it is not often called eugenics. Today it flies under banners like “participatory evolution” and “evolutionary ethics” (terms used to minimize objective truth so morality and ethics also fall under the evolutionary process — changing to fit the times). Richard John Neuhaus summarized the influence of contemporary eugenics two decades ago (and what he said still applies — only moreso): “eugenics gives every appearance of returning with a vengeance in the form of developments ranging from the adventuresome to the bizarre to the ghoulish — the manufacture of synthetic children, the fabrication of families, artificial sex, and new ways of using and terminating undesired human life.”

Charles Colson recently commented that

eugenic ideas are surfacing again, masquerading as humanitarian progress—as in research labs where scientists destroy “leftover” human embryos to find cures for diseases, or in sperm banks where women select their baby’s father from hundreds of donors on the basis of intelligence or gifts, or in doctors’ offices where parents feel subtle pressure to abort imperfect fetuses, or in hospitals when futile-care policies allow doctors to decide who lives and who dies. Today, some ethicists, like Princeton’s Peter Singer, brazenly argue that it’s permissible to kill disabled children after they’re born—children like my autistic grandson, Max—all in the seductive guise of maximizing human happiness.…

Today, scientists are fashioning a “master race” not by herding “inferior” people into gas chambers, but by practicing involuntary euthanasia throughout the life cycle. As Judeo-Christian influence erodes in Western society, traditional ethical norms are giving way to the only remaining absolute: maximizing happiness. But sacrificing one to benefit all soon makes all vulnerable. If we follow the deadly logic of modern utilitarianism, other questions will soon confront us: Why not take the body parts of prisoners sentenced for life to save others, as the Chinese do? Why feed those unable to work or provide medical care to someone in the last stages of illness?…

Eugenics, once discredited, has made a lethal comeback. As we celebrate the Incarnation this month, we are reminded that every life at every stage is precious in God’s design. We must help our neighbors understand that this aspect of the Christian worldview—the conviction that all life is sacred—provides the only defense for the weakest in our midst. If, as I believe, the character of a society is ultimately judged by how well it cares for the poor and the weak, what does the return of eugenics tell us about our nation?

Eugenics is not a distant issue. It is here, and it deserves our Biblical attention by applying Biblical principles and thought to evaluating and discrediting ungodly and unrighteous theologies (and this is a theology — a way of thinking about God and "gods").

I commend to you the article by Colson, and an outstanding series of interviews produced by Mars Hill Audio in issue 70 (a portion of that issue is available for free). Read. Listen. Be warned. And be transformed.