What Is Eugenics, and Why Does It Matter Now?
Eugenics is the belief that human populations can be “improved” by controlling who gets to reproduce.
Historically, it justified forced sterilizations, discriminatory marriage laws, and ultimately, Nazi atrocities. In the United States, more than 60,000 people were sterilized under eugenics programs in the 20th century—targeting poor, disabled, and minority communities.
Although the word itself feels like it belongs to the past, the philosophy never disappeared. It reemerges under new labels: “genetic fitness,” “population management,” or “public health optimization.” Whenever political leaders talk about who is “deserving” of care, who drains resources, or who should be “weeded out” for the good of the economy, they’re tapping into the same dangerous current.
Why This Is Coming Up Now
The alarm bells grew louder this month when Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a senior CDC official, resigned in protest. In his resignation letter, he warned:
“The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer. … Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.”
In television interviews, he added that hearing administration officials praise someone’s “superior genetics” was a clear red flag:
“That is eugenics. Wake up.”
These are not abstract warnings. They are coming from within the very agency tasked with protecting public health.
The Warning for Us
Eugenics is not just a chapter of history. It’s a mindset that creeps back into policy when leaders decide whose life counts more. Whether it’s rationing care, limiting vaccines, or praising “superior genetics,” the logic is the same: some lives are valued, others are disposable.
This is how eugenics sneaks back in—not announced on a banner, but slipped into the fine print of policy decisions. And once the language of “undesirable” or “unfit” is normalized, it’s only a short step to systems that control our bodies and our futures.
Use every tool at your disposal. This is not a time to pull punches. This is a time to guard human dignity and resist policies that reopen the door to eugenics.
I think about when this is applied to dogs. Fans of a certain breed have been using this method to develop designer dogs. They don’t take into account the health ramifications when they breed to shorten noses (Shih Tzus and Boston Terriers come to mind) as an example. Golden retrievers, once considered one of the most intelligent dogs, have been breed for beautiful coats. They are no longer considered the most intelligent creatures. Humans don’t have the ability to genetically engineer dogs successfully and without health liability so what does any human believes that they are the most intelligent animals to mess with Life’s design? If you believe in a God, I’d be willing to bet He wouldn’t be happy you’ve usurped his authority. Even if you don’t believe in a God, humans have proven unfit for the job. This was also practiced on slaves, or at least that’s what I was taught. I wonder how that worked out.
Just another old and perverse concept yet arising once again. It’s just like my ground hogs day cartoon.