Even before the Nazis came to power, however, eugenic ideas were very popular in the United States and Europe. They were for the most part well to do, educated, white, Protestant, and descended from northern Europeans. Some people who held eugenic ideas also were scientists. These scientists conducted research to support their theories. For the most part, their research was badly done and affected by their beliefs about the kinds of people who were good or bad.
Eugenic ideas are popular even today.
China has a law that forbids mentally retarded people from marrying if they have not been sterilized. Singapore offers cash rewards to well-educated women who have babies. In the U.S., the eugenics laws from the first half of the century are no longer on the books. However, the beliefs still persist. One new way these beliefs are expressed is in the idea that poor people are poor because they have poor genes.