The Major Cons of Eugenics

Eugenics is the belief that selecting the mating partners and controlling the offspring improves the quality of human life. According to history, it dates back to Ancient Greece, but after its adaption by the Nazis, eugenics gained much criticism, scrutiny and disapproval.

List of Cons of Eugenics

1. It is Very Expensive
Engineering a perfect or desirable offspring is expensive. Not many couples can afford hiring a team of geneticists to engineer their dream baby. This further widens the gap between the rich and poor, with the rich producing the more dominant and more superior offspring.

2. It Kills Human Diversity
The human race is diverse because of the diversity of the parents. But when new generation of humans are controlled genetically, it eliminates diversity and creates a unified type of race that is deemed perfect and superior.

3. It Creates Extreme Discrimination
There would be extreme discrimination against natural born babies because they will be considered inferior to those engineered ones with healthier bodies, smarter minds and better looks.

4. It May Multiply not Prevent Genetic Mistakes
There is a catch to altering genes to prevent genetic mistakes. Down the line of eliminating genetic disorders produces humans with similar genetic makeup and a shallow gene pool. This could lead to serious ailments as in the case of purebreds.

5. It is Based on Nazi Ideology
Artificial selection has its dark foundations rooted in the eugenics program of the Nazis. Even if future eugenics program may be done with the best of intentions, it will always be influenced by the subjective beliefs of those in power – the deciding body that determines what traits are desirable and undesirable.

Eugenics does have some benefits, but as an infant technology, it is has risks and prone to costly mistakes at the expense of actual humans. Artificial selection like eugenics is doubtful because no one has ever succeeded at manipulating or taming nature. But when the time comes that man perfects eugenics and decides to embrace it, man also needs to tame himself to use it for good, and good only.