Why is Royal Society hosting pro-eugenics conference?

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GMW: Why is Royal Society hosting pro-eugenics conference?

" GM WATCH " <info

 

Fri, 1 Oct 2004 11:50:17 +0100

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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The following press releases concern a pro-eugenics conference taking

place yesterday and today at the Royal Society in London. Among the

conference topics:

 

* Why we are morally obliged to genetically enhance our children -

Julian Savulescu

 

* Gay science: choosing our children's sexual orientation - Timothy

Murphy

 

* Preventing the existence of people with disabilities - Jeff McMahon

 

* Eugenics some lessons from the past -- David Galton

 

The pressure group People Against Eugenics has commented: " Even if

the talks are not actually illegal, the Royal Society should never

allow it premises to be used to promote eugenics and hatred of

disabled people. "

 

The Royal Society urgently needs to clarify how this event came to be

held at the Society, and the role if any of Officers or Fellows of the

Royal Society in arranging for the Society to host it.

 

The UK has been far from free of the influence of eugenic thought, as

anyone can see by checking out the membership of the British Eugenics

Society and seeing just some of the formal badge wearers among the

many scientists and others influenced by this fashion.

http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/endx.htm

 

For more on the Royal Society and its troubled history:

http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=113

 

1.Disabled people and allies condemn pro-eugenics conference

2.DISABILITY discrimination concern forces legal inquiry over eugenics

conference

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1.MEDIA RELEASE

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

 

PLACE Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1

DATE/ TIME 9 am Sept 30th

 

Embargo: 8:30 AM Sept 30th 2004

 

Disabled people and allies condemn pro-eugenics conference

 

People Against Eugenics (1) will be protesting today at a pro-eugenics

conference at the Royal Society in London (2). Campaigners will be

arguing that the Royal Society should not allow a platform to argue

for the elimination of disabled people and for cloning and designer

babies.

 

The conference is a blatant attempt to advance a eugenic agenda, and

has no semblance of balance. No disabled people have been asked to

speak. The main conference organiser, the pioneer of IVF, Robert

Edwards, represents the link between old-fashioned eugenics and the

new free-market version.

Edwards has been a former President and a leading member of the

British Eugenics Society since the 1960s (3). He believes it is a

'sin' to have disabled children (see quote 1 below). Another

conference organiser, Edgar Dahl, supports sex selection and

reproductive cloning.

 

In addition to these, John Harris and David Galton have supported

eugenics as a positive good (quote 2). Harris and Jeff McMahan

believe that people should be allowed to kill disabled babies, since

they are supposedly less than fully human (quotes 3 and 4). Gregory

Stock is a well-known advocate

of 'improving' children via genetic engineering and Julian Savulescu

will be arguing the 'moral' case for doing so at the conference.

 

Other speakers argue an absolute 'right' of parental choice to design

and select our children, no matter what the social consequences. John

Robertson has argued that this 'right' means that cloning and sex

selection should be allowed (4) and Savulescu believes that parents

should be allowed to abort children with teeth defects (5). Timothy

Murphy says that, if it becomes possible, parents should be allowed to

prevent the birth of gay children, since even a massive reduction in

the number of gay people would not be sufficient harm to restrict

'reproductive liberty' (6).

 

People Against Eugenics (PAE) rejects the claim that eugenics ended

after the Holocaust. Many of these speakers clearly share the early

20th century eugenics movement's aim of preventing disabled people

being born, but they have different, more up-to-date means. In fact,

many early 20th century eugenicists, including the eugenics movement's

founder, Francis Galton, also opposed coercive legislation, favouring

persuasion and what we would today call market forces. The advocacy

of 'reproductive liberty' is a key part of advancing the agenda of

free-market eugenics. PAE supports women's right to choose abortion,

but does not believe this includes some 'right' to design

our children.

 

Disabled campaigner, Rachel Hurst, said: " Disabled people are human

beings too - a 'healthy' nation is one in which difference is included

and celebrated - not a nation designed by the powerful. "

 

PAE campaigner Holly Williams said: " The timing of this conference is

a blast from the past in a society celebrating the achievements of the

Paralympics and the new disability equality act. There needs to be a

bigger public debate about what sort of a society we want to live in.

PAE is in favour of an inclusive and supportive society where disabled

people have equal rights, and adequate financial support. Social

justice will help us be a healthy and happy population. Eugenics is

morally unacceptable, elitist, and medically risky. "

 

For more information on today's demonstration contact: Holly Williams

from People Against Eugenics 07775 603341,

peopleagainsteugenics, or Rachel Hurst (Disability

Awareness in Action) 07939 143068 (on Sept

30th).

 

Quotes from speakers.

 

Robert Edwards: 'Soon it will be a sin for parents to have a child

which carries the heavy burden of genetic disease. We are entering a

world where we have to consider the quality of our children.'

(Speaking at European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology,

reported in Metro, 5 July 1999).

 

John Harris: " Eugenics is the attempt to create fine healthy children

and that's everyone's ambition. " Harris told the BBC that couples who

choose to have disabled babies are " misguided " .

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3120478.stm

 

John Harris: " I don't think infanticide is always unjustifiable. "

Daily Telegraph Jan 25 2004

 

Jeff McMahan: " Because of their rudimentary cognitive and emotional

capacities {congenitally severely cognitively impaired human beings]

have a relatively weak time-relative interest in continuing to live. "

The Ethics of Killing NY Oxford University Press 2002, p204.

 

" There are no morally significant differences between severely

retarded human beings (PAE note: this means all human beings, not just

newborn babies) and animals with comparable psychological capacities. "

Ibid, p228

 

Notes for editors

 

1) 'People Against Eugenics' is an alliance of disability rights

campaigners, feminists, social justice activists and members of the

public who have come together to oppose the eugenic agenda of this

conference.

2) First International conference " Ethics, Science and Moral

Philosophy of Assisted Human Reproduction " ,

http://www.humanreproethics.org/welcome.htm.

3) The Eugenics Society, which was founded in, 1907 changed its name

to The Galton Institute in 1989. In 1999 PAE held a protest at its

conference in London, at which three speakers (Arthur Jensen, Richard

Lynn and Glayde Whitney) who are well known for claiming that black

people are genetically inferior to whites were speaking.

4) Children of Choice: Freedom and the New Reproductive Technologies,

John Robertson (Princeton University Press, 1994).

5) 'Its only teeth - are there limits to genetic testing? Aldred,

Crawford, Savariayan and Savulescu, 2003 Clinical Genetics: 63 333-339.

6) Gay Science Timothy F. Murphy Columbia University Press New York

1997.

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2.MEDIA RELEASE

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

 

PLACE Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1

 

DATE/ TIME 9 am Sept 30th 2004

Embargo: 8:30 AM Sept 30th 2004

 

DISABILITY discrimination concern forces legal inquiry over eugenics

conference

 

On the day that the new disability discrimination legislation comes

into force, People Against Eugenics (PAE) can reveal that a conference

being held at the Royal Society today and tomorrow has raised such

serious concerns about potential sex and disability discrimination

that the Royal Society has been forced to take legal advice about

whether it can continue. In response to a letter from (PAE), the

Royal Society has been forced to release a statement saying that its

lawyers were particularly concerned about four talks being given at

the conference:

 

* Why we are morally obliged to genetically enhance our children -

Julian Savulescu

 

* Gay science: choosing our children's sexual orientation - Timothy

Murphy

 

* Preventing the existence of people with disabilities - Jeff McMahon

 

* Eugenics some lessons from the past -- David Galton

 

PAE will be demonstrating outside the conference from 8:30am tomorrow

morning.

 

Disabled campaigner, Rachel Hurst, said: " Disabled people are human

beings too - a 'healthy' nation is one in which difference is included

and celebrated - not a nation designed by the powerful. "

 

PAE supporter Holly Williams said: " This proves how dangerous and

divisive this conference is. Even if the talks are not actually

illegal, the Royal Society should never allow it premises to be used

to promote eugenics and hatred of disabled people. "

 

More information about the speakers was contained in our earlier press

release, which can be obtained from the PAE e-mail address.

 

For more information on today's demonstration contact: Holly Williams

from People Against Eugenics 07775 603341,

peopleagainsteugenics, or

Rachel Hurst (Disability Awareness in Action) 07939 143068 (on Sept

30th).

 

Notes to editors

 

'People Against Eugenics' is an alliance of disability rights

campaigners, feminists, social justice activists and members of the

public who have come together to oppose the eugenic agenda of this

conference. PAE supports women's right to choose (abortion).

 

First International conference " Ethics, Science and Moral Philosophy

of Assisted Human Reproduction " ,

http://www.humanreproethics.org/welcome.htm.