Understanding Eugenics: The U.S. and Nazi Plans to Shape the Gene Pool & Control the Population

The "science" of eugenics—by which the genetic makeup of a population is shaped by controlling who does and doesn't reproduce—is forever tied in the popular memory with Nazi Germany. But the practice began in late 19th century England, and was widely embraced in the US, Canada, and Europe. All sorts of policies were enacted as a result, touching on segregation, marriage, birth control, abortion, compulsory sterilization, forced pregnancy, and genocide. Race was a major obsession of eugenicists. So was disability—and many new genetic testing practices are a continuation of the era of eugenics. Read the harrowing hidden history and present state of eugenics with all its moral and scientific implications.