The term "eugenics" is not typically found in the mass media today. Many think of it only in the context of the dark science engaged in by Nazi Germany, or the sterilization programs in mid-century homes for the mentally impaired. But in fact, the concept of eugenics came back to the forefront in the early 1980's, with the advancement of genetic science. Experiments like the Human Genome Project have now put a modern face on eugenics - and in some ways, it is a far more dangerous face than the old, evil countenance of days past. Today eugenics is being dressed up and paraded before the public as one of the 'blessings of modern science' - the magic of genetic engineering, which promises to put an end to disease, let parents customize the gene traits of their children, and other supposedly benign benefits of modern science. |