John:

“Good genes” and “the racehorse theory.” Coerced sterilizations in government facilities. Pandemic proposals rife with ableism, ageism, and racism.

Despite what many would like to think, eugenics hasn’t disappeared. In 2020, we saw eugenic legacies and practices make front-page news — repeatedly. But we also saw more people than ever naming and pushing back against these pernicious ideas:

Toppling statues and renaming buildings that celebrated prominent eugenicists.
Advocating for compensation for survivors of past sterilization campaigns.
Insisting on equitable access to medical care for all.

In 2020, CGS fought eugenics, old and new:

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CGS consultant Emily Galpern detailed the continuing fight to pass a California bill to compensate survivors of eugenic sterilization. With CGS advisory board member Alexandra Minna Stern and colleagues, Emily linked the recently uncovered sterilizations at a Georgia ICE facility to California’s eugenic legacies.

CGS consultant Pete Shanks’ trio of posts highlighted how eugenic thinking shapes the unjust and uneven distribution both of COVID-19’s harms and of responses to the pandemic.

Marcy Darnovsky, with Jonathan Kahn and Jonathan Marks, took a hard look at Donald Trump’s frequent turns to the eugenics playbook in Trump's “Racehorse Theory” and Why It Matters.

CGS continued to highlight the histories and eugenic potential of genetic technologies like genetic testing, chimeras, and heritable genome editing.

2020 is nearly over, but the fight against a new eugenics and for genetic justice will continue in 2021 and beyond. Will you join us?

Marcy Darnovsky and Katie Hasson

Center for Genetics and Society

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