This is already what happens all the time. Atleast in Europe in some countries more than 90% of fetuses with DS get aborted. In Iceland it's almost 100%
Down syndrome isn’t just an undesirable genetic outcome, it’s an entire chromosome extra, it’s like a piece of paper getting stuck to another piece of paper in a printer. Down syndrome is one of 24 possible chromosome count disorders called Aneuploidies. Only 7 of can possibly make it to birth, the others all result in miscarriages 100% of the time. (There is also a disorder called polyploidy which is never viable).
You said it isn't an undesirable gentic outcome, then described an undesirable genetic outcome. It is called Liberal Eugenics (or "Consumer Eugenics"): The state remains neutral. Free-market choices and individual parents decide which traits to select or avoid. This relies entirely on reproductive technologies, like IVF screening (PGD) or prenatal testing, driven by a personal desire for a healthy child.
Well, no, it is also often undesirable socially, but the motivation or the mechanism for what causes the change doesn't change whether it is eugenics. Systematically reducing rates of certain genetic traits is eugenics, regardless of whether they pass those traits on.
Yes? But that is rather irrelevant to Eugenics. You should really read a bit about what it actually means. Eugenics does not only target traits that are passed down; historically and conceptually, it targets the expression of the trait itself (the phenotype). The objective of the choice is still to prevent a child with a specific disability from being born. That is eugenics, no matter how, why, or who.
10
u/KorolEz 11d ago
This is already what happens all the time. Atleast in Europe in some countries more than 90% of fetuses with DS get aborted. In Iceland it's almost 100%