History, Eugenics, and Genetics Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd) Harvard Medical School
The Beery twins, Noah and Alexis (2011)
Oxford Nanopore MinION Genome sequencing technology
Fanconi anemia (disorder of DNA repair) Cure: PGD, umbilical cord blood stem cells Molly and Adam Nash
Schwartz 2011 Jewish News PGD: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Hudson 2006 Fertility & Sterility Fatal TransplantsAdult illness GenderStrength & Intelligence Men Women Public attitudes regarding the use of PGD
Big idea: Improving society and humanity via selective breeding and sterilization. First half of the 20 th century. State and Federal laws addressing issues ranging from immigration to mandatory sterilization Burlington Free Press, January 24, 1925, p. 1. American eugenics movement
Photo by Jacob Riis, courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York
Georgia State Fair “Fitter Family” contests: 1920s – 1940s
Carrie Buck
“...society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind... Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
“We do not stand alone”
Nuremberg Code 4 of the 10 directives for Human Subjects Research 1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential… 2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, … 4. The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury. 9. During the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end…
Pamphlet from the Human Betterment League of North Carolina – 1950
Los Angeles Times Protests against forced sterilization
Elaine Riddick – sterilized without her knowledge at the age of 14
Presidential Commission on Bioethical Issues