Eugenics, Euthenics & Euphenics

Improvement of the human race

1. Genetics is everywhere these days –and it will continue as a dominant force in
biology and society for decades to come.
BY-
Dr. Dinesh C. Sharma
KM Govt. Girls P.G. College, Badalpur, GB Nagar
Eugenics, Euthenics
&
Euphenics

2. Dangerously Ahead of the
Game -A Eugenics Exhibit
at the 1920 Kansas State
Fair
Eugenics,
Improvement of human race
through heredity law or using
Pedigree analysis.
Eugenicsisthescienceof
improvingthehumanspeciesby
selectivelymatingpeoplewith
specificdesirablehereditary
traits.Itaimstoreducehuman
sufferingby“breedingout”
disease,disabilitiesandso-
called undesirable
characteristicsfromthehuman
population

3. Eugenicsisthescienceofimprovingthe
humanspeciesbyselectivelymatingpeople
withspecificdesirablehereditarytraits.
Itaimstoreducehumansufferingby
“breedingout”disease,disabilitiesandso-
calledundesirablecharacteristicsfromthe
humanpopulation.
Earlysupportersofeugenicsbelievedpeople
inheritedmentalillness,criminaltendencies
andevenpoverty,andthattheseconditions
couldbebredoutofthegenepool.

4. In1883,SirFrancisGalton(Britishscholarand
cousinofCharlesDarwin),firstusedtheterm
eugenics,meaning“well-born.”
Galtonbelievedthatthehumanracecouldhelp
directitsfuturebyselectivelybreedingindividuals
whohave“desired”traits.Thisideawasbasedon
Galton’sstudyofupperclassBritain.Following
thesestudies,Galtonconcludedthatanelite
positioninsocietywasduetoagoodgenetic
makeup.WhileGalton’splanstoimprovethe
humanracethroughselectivebreedingnevercame
tofruitioninBritain,theyeventuallytooksinister
turnsinothercountries.

5. EugenicistsintheU.S.focusedoneffortstostopthe
transmissionofnegativeor“undesirable”traitsfromgeneration
togeneration.Thisleadtothe1911establishmentofThe
EugenicsRecordsOffice(ERO)inColdSpringHarbor,New
York.TheEROspenttimetrackingfamilyhistoriesandconcluded
thatpeopledeemedtobeunfitmoreoftencamefromfamiliesthat
werepoor,lowinsocialstanding,immigrant,and/orminority.
Further,EROresearchers“demonstrated”thattheundesirable
traitsinthesefamilies,suchaspauperism,wereduetogenetics,
andnotlackofresources.
Committeeswereconvenedtooffersolutionstotheproblemof
thegrowingnumberof“undesirables”intheU.S.population.
Stricterimmigrationruleswereenacted,butthemostominous
resolutionwasaplantosterilize“unfit”individualsto
preventthemfrompassingontheirnegativetraits.Duringthe
20
th
century,atotalof33stateshadsterilizationprogramsin
place.

6. Nazieugenics,wereNaziGermany'sracially
basedsocialpoliciesthatplacedthebiological
improvementoftheAryanraceorGermanic
"Übermenschen"masterracethrougheugenicsatthe
centerofNaziideology.
Morethan400,000peopleweresterilizedagainsttheir
will,whileupto300,000werekilledunderActionT4,
aeuthanasiaprogram.InJune1935,Hitlerandhis
cabinetmadealistofsevennewdecrees,number5was
tospeeduptheinvestigationsofsterilization
InGermany,eugenicsweremostlyknownunderthe
synonymoustermracialhygiene.FollowingtheSecond
WorldWar,bothtermseffectivelyvanishedandwere
replacedbyHumangenetik(humangenetics).

7. Hitler's views on eugenics
AdolfHitlerreadaboutracialhygieneduringhisimprisonment
inLandsbergPrison.Hebelievedthenationhadbecomeweak,
corruptedbydysgenics,theinfusionofdegenerateelementsintoits
bloodstream.
Theracialismandideaofcompetition,termedsocialDarwinismin
1944,werediscussedbyEuropeanscientistsandalsointheVienna
pressduringthe1920s.WhereHitlerpickeduptheideasisuncertain.
Heendorsedwhatheperceivedtobeanearlyeugenicstreatmentof
deformedchildren:
Sparta(usingideasperhapsborrowedfromErnstHaeckel),The
exposureofthesick,weak,deformedchildren,inshort,their
destruction,wasmoredecentandintruthathousandtimesmore
humanethanthewretchedinsanityofourdaywhichpreservesthemost
pathologicalsubject,andindeedatanyprice,andyettakesthelifeofa
hundredthousandhealthychildreninconsequenceofbirthcontrolor
throughabortions,inordersubsequentlytobreedaraceofdegenerates
burdenedwithillnesses.

8. Nazi eugenics program
TheLawforthePreventionofHereditarilyDiseasedOffspring,
enactedonJuly14,1933,allowedthecompulsorysterilisationof
anycitizenwhoaccordingtotheopinionofa"GeneticHealth
Court"sufferedfromalistofallegedgeneticdisordersand
requiredphysicianstoregistereverycaseofhereditaryillness
knowntothem,exceptinwomenover45yearsofage.Physicians
couldbefinedforfailingtocomply.
In1934,thefirstyearoftheLaw'soperation,nearly4,000people
appealedagainstthedecisionsofsterilizationauthorities.Atotalof
3,559oftheappealsfailed.
BytheendoftheNaziregime,over200HereditaryHealth
Courts(Erbgesundheitsgerichte)werecreated,andundertheir
rulingsover400,000personsweresterilizedagainsttheirwill.

9. Nazi eugenics institutions
TheHadamarClinicwasamentalhospitalintheGerman
usedbytheNazi-controlledGermangovernmentasthe
siteofActionT4.
TheKaiserWilhelmInstituteofAnthropology,Human
Heredity,andEugenicswasfoundedin1927.Hartheim
EuthanasiaCentrewasalsopartoftheeuthanasia
programmewheretheNaziskilledindividualsthey
deemeddisabled.Thefirstmethodusedinvolved
transportingpatientsbybusesinwhichtheengineexhaust
gaseswerepassedintotheinteriorofthebuses,andso
killedthepassengers.Gaschambersweredevelopedlater
andusedpurecarbonmonoxidegastokillthepatients.In
itsearlyyears,andduringtheNaziera,theClinicwas
stronglyassociatedwiththeoriesofeugenicsandracial
hygieneadvocatedbyitsleadingtheoristsFritz
LenzandEugenFischer,andbyitsdirectorOtmarvon
Verschuer.UnderFischer,thesterilizationofso-
calledRhinelandBastardswasundertaken.Grafeneck
CastlewasoneofNaziGermany'skillingcenters,and
todayitisamemorialplacededicatedtothevictimsofthe
ActionT4.

10. Nazi eugenics policies regarding marriage
AftertheNazispassedtheNurembergLawsin1935,itbecame
compulsoryforbothmarriagepartnerstobetestedforhereditary
diseasesinordertopreservetheperceivedracialpurityofthe
Aryanrace.
Everyonewasencouragedtocarefullyevaluatehisorher
prospectivemarriagepartnereugenicallyduringcourtship.
MembersoftheSSwerecautionedtocarefullyinterview
prospectivemarriagepartnerstomakesuretheyhadnofamily
historyofhereditarydiseaseorinsanity,buttodothiscarefully
soasnottohurtthefeelingsoftheprospectivefianceeand,ifit
becamenecessarytorejectherforeugenicreasons,todoit
tactfullyandnotcauseheranyoffense.

11. Positive eugenics refers to efforts aimed at increasing desirable
traits, while negative eugenics refers to efforts aimed at
decreasing undesirable traits.
Breedingfor'desirable'traitstoimprovethehumanrace,
calledpositiveeugenics.Thisfocusedongivingmonetary
incentivesintheformoftaxbreaksandstipendstoencouragethe
'best'toreproduceandpassontheirtraits.Theseweredesignedto
motivatethosewithdesirabletraitstohavemorechildrenand
thereforeincreasethenumberofindividualswithsuchtraitsinthe
humanpopulation
InNegativeeugenics,'unfit'peoplearepreventedfromreproducing,
oftenagainsttheirwill.Negativeeugenicsinvolvedsterilization,
marriagerestrictions,andinextremecaseseuthanasia.Preventingsuch
peoplefromreproducingpreventedtheirgenesfrom'tainting'thegene
poolandbringingdownthehumanrace.

12. Euthenics:
Euthenicsisthestudyoftheimprovementof
humanfunctioningandwell-beingby
improvementoflivingconditions.(Environment)
Affectingthe"improvement"throughaltering
externalfactorssuchaseducationandthe
controllableenvironment,includingthe
preventionandremovalofcontagious
diseaseandparasites,environmentalism,
educationregardingemployment,home
economics,sanitation,andhousing.

13. Euthenics vs. eugenics
Eugenics Euthenics
Deals with race
improvement through
heredity
deals with race improvement
through environment.
Eugenics is hygiene for the
future generations
Euthenics is hygiene for the
present generation.
Eugenics must await careful
investigation.
Euthenics has immediate
opportunity.
Genetic laws Bestenviornment
Euthenics precedes eugenics, developing better men now, and
thus inevitably creating a better race of men in the future.
Euthenics is the term proposed for the preliminary science on
which Eugenics must be based.

14. Euphenics
Euphenics,whichliterallymeans
"goodappearance"or"normal
appearing",isthescienceof
makingphenotypicimprovements
tohumansafterbirth,generallyto
affectaproblematicgenetic
condition.
Euphenics deals with improvement of human race by genetic engineering.

15. Euphenics
JoshuaLederberg(1960)inventedthetermeuphenicsto
differentiatethepracticefromeugenics,whichwaswidely
unpopularatthetime.Heemphasizedthatthegenetic
manipulationhedescribedwasintendedtoworkonphenotype
ratherthangenotype;hefeltitwasmorefeasibletopositively
changeanindividual'sgeneticsratherthanattempttochange
thecourseofevolutionaseugenicsproposed.
TheodosiusDobzhansky,anoutspokenproponentof
euphenics,arguedthatbyimprovinggeneticconditionssothat
peoplecouldlivenormal,healthylives,peoplecouldlessen
theimpactofgeneticconditions,thusloweringfutureinterest
ineugenicsorotherkindsofgeneticmanipulation.
Euphenics deals with improvement of human race by genetic engineering.

16. Euphenics
Oneofthefirstpublicizedapplicationsofeuphenicswas
theuseofvitaminscontainingfolicacidduring
pregnancytocombatneural-tubedeficienciessuch
asspinabifidainthe1970s.
However,medicalsciencehadbeenusingeuphenic
strategiesyearsbeforethetermitselfwascoined.
Euphenicsisusedtodayinthemedicalcommunityto
moregenerallyrefertomethodsofaffectingagenetic
conditioninapositivemannerthroughdiet,lifestyleor
environment,suchastheuseofinsulintocontroldiabetes
orinstallationofapacemakertooffsetaheartdefect.
Euphenics deals with improvement of human race by genetic engineering.