NLM History Lecture - A Brief History of Eugenics in America

A Brief History of Eugenics in America: Implications for Medicine in the 21st Century
The eugenics movement in early 20th century America was based on a limited understanding of human heredity, and culminated in a nationwide program of forced sterilization of those deemed unfit to reproduce. A related aspect of the eugenics movement was exclusion of undesirable immigrants who were of “bad blood.” What lessons can we learn from America’s eugenics movement that will help us answer the difficult questions raised by striking advances in biomedicine in the 21st century? In vitro fertilization, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, non-invasive prenatal fetal screening, gene replacement, genome editing and reproductive cloning will require us to address what it means to be a “normal” human. This master class will consider the historical context of these powerful technologies as well as their social and ethical implications.
For more information go to history.nih.gov
Author: Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Air date: Thursday, April 22, 2021, 12:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local