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Eugenics in 20th century
The change and continuity of eugenics had in 20 centuries
Eugenics past and future
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Margaret Sanger was a birth rights advocate and in her later years, supported eugenics. Eugenics is the belief that all of the good human qualities can be the main characteristics instead of all the bad qualities in the human population. In the speech, Sanger believes that people with mental illnesses should have limited children or no children at all which proves that she supported negative eugenics and sterilization.
In 1933, the ‘Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring’ was passed, ordering forced sterilization of those who were considered to be Disabled. These people included those with deafness, blindness, physical deformities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, etcetera. (“Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases”). Hitler backdated his order to September 1st, 1939, the day World War II began, to make it appear as if this was a wartime measure. The individuals were taken to supposed “Eugenics Court” where doctors and lawyers loyal to Hitler reviewed the cases.
Nellie McClung, who was a major women’s rights activist at the time, argued that it should be illegal as it led to higher rates of domestic abuse, the Prime Minister at the time, Robert Borden, agreed and made it illegal in 1916. This showed the women of the time, who did noy have many freedoms or rights, that if they petitioned for something
The Perfect “Scientific” Impulse Nathaniel Comfort portrays the evolution of genetic medicine from the 19th century to the present. Scientists, statisticians and other distinguished individuals contributed to the idea of eugenics and its relation to genetic medicine. Three central concepts that support the central idea of the story include: positive and negative eugenics, genetic medicine and the eugenic impulse. Comfort’s argument focuses on the idea that medical genetics and eugenics have one major aspect in common, THE EUGENIC IMPULSE. Society looks down upon eugenics; however, medical genetics is glorified and seen as a scientific accomplishment.
Any woman that was married during this time did not have a separate identity, only the identity of her husband. Women also had no control on whether or not she could or could not conceive a child. Any kind of contraception was illegal. They also “had no right to own a property of her own, or have a career” (Evans) in any other than being a housewife. “Women could not vote, serve on juries, or hold public office.”
In January of 1926, the Public Assemblages Act made it legal to separate whites and blacks in public halls, theaters, opera houses, and motion picture shows. The final Acts beginning in 1928 attempted to fix the definition of racial definitions. It redefined colored as anyone who has any ascertainable degree of negro blood, any negro blood in their ancestry. The Racial Integrity Laws were passed to maintain social order and to preserve the white race.
The legal and extra-legal (social) status of women began to change during the 1800s. For example,
Women were also an effective cause for the creation of specific laws. During this time period, women were still not allowed to vote. They also faced hardships such as not being able to own property. Women were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, not politics.
For women in the Southern Colonies had very few legal rights such as not being able to vote or preach. Most women had difficult jobs most of the women 's jobs were being homemakers. Life for the women were hard and unforgiving. Life for the colonial women had to work on farms.
Innovative technology has led to the creation of genetic screening, which can lead to both the prevention of possible diseases but also the spread of sensitive and volatile medical knowledge. Following the completion of the Human Genome Project, which mapped out the entire genome, predictive genetic screening exploded as a “rapidly emerging field” (Fulda) in the medical universe, according to a group dedicated to the education and debate of health choices called the Institute of Medical Ethics. With complete knowledge of each piece of DNA and its function, scientists could analyze genetic material to a greater extent and predict how the structure could affect the recipient of the test. These exams use samples from a person’s body and test
The establishment and enforcement of laws were created by men for their superiority and advancement at every level of society. The superiority of men as the dominant group, led to the implementation of rules and actions that in many forms denigrated the rights of women. According to the author “Who wins what in these struggles depends on the resources controlled by different factions, but also for resources for social organization and for shaping emotions and ideas” (Collins, 1990, p.68). The impact on the submissive group created social disorganization among women. This led to the rise of the dominant group (men) being able to commit physical, emotional and sexual abuse of females without receiving a commensurate consequence because they were the ones controlling the system.
The four major principles that doctors would look for are insanity, feeble-minded, epilepsy, poverty, alcoholism and certain forms of criminality. They believed that all of these were hereditary, and they used Darwin’s theory of revolution to support that this would help and that these are hereditary. Although, most if not all the requirements they had so the person would be forced to be sterilized were environmental and not hereditary but they did not have enough technology nor information to prove if it was or
Laws gave men the power over women. They were expected to obey their male relatives and had few rights. Any disobedience is considered an offense to their religion. Women were not allowed to take any career. Their only job is to bear children and run the household.
After this law, many women were granted freedoms that weren't previously
The reason for this was because there were complaints about how unjust the laws were. From women being denied the right to vote, owning a property or simple things such as