lecture 32 Flashcards
eugenics
what is the study of how to arrange reproduction in a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable called?
eugenics
what is the idea of biological degeneration?
the human genome is declining in fitness as a result of genetic traits deteriorating or declining over the generations resulting in a weakening of the overall health and vitality of the population
family planning and prenatal care are examples of what?
positive eugenics
what is meant by the term “positive eugenics?”
promoting the “good stock,” the concept is not necessarily “good,” rather refers to the encouragement that people with desirable traits get to have children
what is meant by the term “negative eugenics?”
also not just the “bad” kind of eugenics, it instead refers to the goal for people with less “desirable” characteristics not to have produce offspring
segregation, forced sterilization, and euthanasia are examples of what?
negative eugenics
what was the effect of the Buck v. Bell decision?
upheld the constitutionality of a Virginia law that allowed for the forced sterilization of individuals deemed “unfit” to reproduce, particularly those with mental disabilities
what was the effect of the Relf v. Weinberger decision?
prohibited the use of federal dollars
for involuntary sterilizations and the
practice of threatening women on
welfare with the loss of their benefits
if they refused to comply
why is the fact that traits are polygenic a problem for eugenics?
it makes it much harder to engineer children with specific traits as it is hard to determine the outcomes of polygenic traits
what does gene linkage and genetic variation have to do with eugenics?
they are problems with eugenic theory because, similar to polygenic traits, it is hard to predict the outcome of genes that are linked or cause an outcome due to genetic variation
what does “hybrid vigor” refer to?
the idea that individuals who are the offspring of different populations are actually stronger than individuals in either population because they inherit beneficial traits from both parents
