The new eugenics movement bears little resemblance to the reign of terror that culminated in the Holocaust. In place of shrill cries for racial purity, we have pragmatic talk of increased economic efficiency, better performance standards, and improvement in the quality of life. The old eugenics was steeped in political ideology and motivated by fear and hate. The new eugenics is spurred by market forces and consumer desire. The scientific tools are now becoming available to manipulate the genetic instructions in human cells.
Genetic manipulation is of two kinds.
In germ line therapy, genetic changes are made in the sperm, egg, or embryonic cells and are passed along to future generations. Even so, proponents of the therapy are anxious to take the gamble, convinced that controlling our evolutionary destiny is humankind's next great social frontier. Couching their arguments in terms of personal health, individual choice, and collective responsibility for future generations, they say parents ought to have the right to make choices on how best to protect the health of their unborn children. To deny them the opportunity to take corrective action before or just after conception would be a serious breach of medical responsibility. And the health costs to society also need to be factored in, say advocates, pointing out that caring for generations of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease or severe Down's syndrome will probably be far costlier than simple prevention through germ line therapy.