RE: What if.......

Theresa,
In your post you write “Currently, the goal of genetic testing is to help the physician and patient know potential risks and proceed accordingly”. Now with that in mind, what happens if the goal of genetic testing becomes something else? I love to play “what if”, so what if Hitler’s scientists had discovered genetic testing? The Nazis practiced a form of eugenics. According to PBS “the term eugenics comes from the Greek roots for "good" and "generation" or "origin" and was first used to refer to the "science" of heredity and good breeding in about 1883 (PBS, 1998). Twenty years after the term was coined Gregory Mendel discovered that the cross breading of peas resulted in better qualities. As a result of Mendel’s discoveries the study of genes or traits was born and Eugenics quickly became a social movement. Also according to PBS organizations devoted to eugenics began to surface after the First World War. Some of the names of these organizations, such as the US based Race Betterment Foundation, were quite frightening. Scientists presented their results at fairs and held competitions such as Better Baby and Fitter Family (PBS, 1998). According to The George Mason University’s History News Network, the concept of blond hair and blue eyes being the master race was originated by eugenics scientists in California years before Hitler came to power (Black, 2003). Social acceptance of eugenics began to fade once the world had discovered the horrors of the Jewish holocaust and the experiments conducted by Nazis eugenicists. Hitler had missed the discovery of DNA by only a few years.
Billy
Works Cited
Black, E. (2003, 11 4). The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics. Retrieved 9 8, 2010, from George Mason University's History News Network: http://hnn.us/articles/1796.html
PBS, O. (1998). Eugenics movement reaches its height. Retrieved 9 8, 2010, from pbs.org: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dh23eu.html