eugenics

Study of ways in which the physical and mental characteristics of the human race may be improved. The eugenic principle was abused by the Nazi Party in Germany during the 1930s and early 1940s to justify the attempted extermination of entire social and ethnic groups and the establishment of selective breeding programmes. Modern eugenics is concerned mainly with the elimination of genetic disease.

The term was coined by the English scientist Francis Galton in 1883, and the concept was originally developed in the late 19th century with a view to improving human intelligence and behaviour.

In 1986 Singapore became the first democratic country to adopt an openly eugenic policy by guaranteeing pay increases to female university graduates when they give birth to a child, while offering grants towards house purchases for nongraduate married women on condition that they are sterilized after the first or second child. In China in June 1995, a law was passed making it illegal for carriers of certain genetic diseases to marry unless they agree to sterilization or long-term contraception. All couples wishing to marry must undergo genetic screening.