it can be called “eugenics” by opponents without much recourse
Fascists will call anything by any name if they think it gives them an advantage. So do you want to limit your ability to do the right thing, just to avoid that unavoidable risk?
When you say ‘right’ it sounds like it’s a forgone conclusion that eugenics is not a good term for the things I’m talking about, or that it’s somehow morally reprehensible to refer to stuff like selecting out genetic illnesses as eugenics. It seems to me to be eugenics though.
I think the word is tainted beyond usability. I have a visceral negative reaction to someone promoting eugenics.
I say just drop the word and say what you really mean. Something like- I support increased prenatal screenings and new technologies like CRISPR to reduce the suffering of humanity.
Fair enough, but what do I say when someone says “isn’t that eugenics?” Society has a deep-set opposition to the idea genes affect ones life in any way, but they do, and we should recognize that so that we can make progress toward reducing human suffering. Sincerely, the reason people dislike this idea is because it sounds like eugenics.
Fascists will call anything by any name if they think it gives them an advantage. So do you want to limit your ability to do the right thing, just to avoid that unavoidable risk?
When you say ‘right’ it sounds like it’s a forgone conclusion that eugenics is not a good term for the things I’m talking about, or that it’s somehow morally reprehensible to refer to stuff like selecting out genetic illnesses as eugenics. It seems to me to be eugenics though.
I think the word is tainted beyond usability. I have a visceral negative reaction to someone promoting eugenics.
I say just drop the word and say what you really mean. Something like- I support increased prenatal screenings and new technologies like CRISPR to reduce the suffering of humanity.
Fair enough, but what do I say when someone says “isn’t that eugenics?” Society has a deep-set opposition to the idea genes affect ones life in any way, but they do, and we should recognize that so that we can make progress toward reducing human suffering. Sincerely, the reason people dislike this idea is because it sounds like eugenics.