Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Human Genetics logoLink to American Journal of Human Genetics
. 1991 Nov;49(5):1109–1118.

Eugenics: past, present, and the future.

K L Garver 1, B Garver 1
PMCID: PMC1683254  PMID: 1928094

Abstract

During the past 20 years there has been a resurgence of interest in the history of the eugenics movements, particularly those of the United States and Germany. Unfortunately, most of these accounts have been published in nonmedical and nongenetic journals, so they are not readily available to geneticists or physicians. The authors of this article are concerned about the lack of information that geneticists, physicians, and students have concerning the origin and progress of these movements. This article provides a short history of the American and German eugenics programs and concludes with a review of their possible relations to our current practices. It is hoped that this will encourage institutions to include, in master's Ph.D., and M.D. programs in human genetics, lectures, seminars, and journal clubs on the topic of eugenics.

Full text

PDF
1115

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allen G. E. Genetics, eugenics and class struggle. Genetics. 1975 Jun;79 (Suppl):29–45. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beckwith J. Social and political uses of genetics in the United States: past and present. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;265:46–58. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb29318.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bird R. D., Allen G. The J.H.B. Archive report: the papers of Harry Hamilton Laughlin, eugenicist. J Hist Biol. 1981 Fall;14(2):339–353. doi: 10.1007/BF00141098. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Buss A. R. Galton and the birth of differential psychology and eugenics: social, political, and economic forces. J Hist Behav Sci. 1976 Jan;12(1):47–58. doi: 10.1002/1520-6696(197601)12:1<47::aid-jhbs2300120106>3.0.co;2-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Carter C. O., Roberts J. A., Evans K. A., Buck A. R. Genetic clinic. A follow-up. Lancet. 1971 Feb 6;1(7693):281–285. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)91016-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chapple J. C., Dale R., Evans B. G. The new genetics: will it pay its way? Lancet. 1987 May 23;1(8543):1189–1192. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(87)92153-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Clarke A. Genetics, ethics, and audit. Lancet. 1990 May 12;335(8698):1145–1147. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)91139-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cowan R. S. Francis Galton's contribution to genetics. J Hist Biol. 1972 Fall;5(2):389–412. doi: 10.1007/BF00346665. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. DICE L. R. Heredity clinics: their value for public service and for research. Am J Hum Genet. 1952 Mar;4(1):1–13. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. DUNN L. C. Cross currents in the history of human genetics. Am J Hum Genet. 1962 Mar;14:1–13. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Glass B. A hidden chapter of German eugenics between the two world wars. Proc Am Philos Soc. 1981;125(5):357–367. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. LaChat Michael R. Utilitarian reasoning in Nazi medical policy: some preliminary investigations. Linacre Q. 1975 Feb;42(1):14–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Levinsky N. G. Age as a criterion for rationing health care. N Engl J Med. 1990 Jun 21;322(25):1813–1816. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199006213222512. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McKusick V. A. Mapping and sequencing the human genome. N Engl J Med. 1989 Apr 6;320(14):910–915. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198904063201406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Modell B., Kuliev A. M. Impact of public health on human genetics. Clin Genet. 1989 Nov;36(5):286–298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Osborn F. History of the American Eugenics Society. Soc Biol. 1974 Summer;21(2):115–126. doi: 10.1080/19485565.1974.9988099. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Paul D. Eugenics and the Left. J Hist Ideas. 1984 Oct-Dec;45(4):567–590. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Petchesky R. P. Reproduction, ethics, and public policy: the federal sterilization regulations. Hastings Cent Rep. 1979 Oct;9(5):29–41. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Pfäfflin F. The connections between eugenics, sterilization and mass murder in Germany from 1933 to 1945. Med Law. 1986;5(1):1–10. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Prenatal diagnosis and genetic screening. Community and service implications. Summary and recommendations of a report of the Royal College of Physicians. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1989 Oct;23(4):215–220. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. REED S. C. The local eugenics society. Am J Hum Genet. 1957 Mar;9(1):1–8. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Reilly P. The surgical solution: the writings of activist physicians in the early days of eugenical sterilization. Perspect Biol Med. 1983 Summer;26(4):637–656. doi: 10.1353/pbm.1983.0012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Relman A. S. Reforming the health care system. N Engl J Med. 1990 Oct 4;323(14):991–992. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199010043231411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Sapp J. The struggle for authority in the field of heredity, 1900-1932: new perspectives on the rise of genetics. J Hist Biol. 1983 Fall;16(3):311–342. doi: 10.1007/BF00582405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Seidelman W. E. In memoriam: medicine's confrontation with evil. Hastings Cent Rep. 1989 Nov-Dec;19(6):5–6. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Thielman S. B. Psychiatry and social values: the American Psychiatric Association and immigration restriction, 1880-1930. Psychiatry. 1985 Nov;48(4):299–310. doi: 10.1080/00332747.1985.11024291. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Tormey J. F. Ethical considerations of prenatal genetic diagnosis. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1976 Dec;19(4):957–963. doi: 10.1097/00003081-197612000-00020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Weindling P. Weimar eugenics: the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, human heredity and eugenics in social context. Ann Sci. 1985 May;42(3):303–318. doi: 10.1080/00033798500200221. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Weiss S. F. Wilhelm Schallmayer and the logic of German eugenics. Isis. 1986 Mar;77(286):33–46. doi: 10.1086/354037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Wilfond Benjamin S., Fost Norman. The cystic fibrosis gene: medical and social implications for heterozygote detection. JAMA. 1990 May 23;263(10):2777–2783. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Human Genetics are provided here courtesy of American Society of Human Genetics

RESOURCES