Eugenics is the scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of “racial improvement” and “planned breeding,” which gained popularity during the early 20th century. Eugenicists worldwide believed that they could perfect human beings and eliminate so-called social ills through genetics and heredity.

1. UNIT-II EUGENIC B.SC II
YEAR
DR.ANJALTCHI
MUTHUKUMARAN
VICE PRINCIPAL
ERA COLLEGE OG NURSING
SARFRAZGANJ , LUCKNOW
226003

2. Content of the chapter
 Introduction
 Definition
 Meaning
 Aim
 Types
 Description about positive eugenic
 Description about negative eugenic
 Eugenic measure
 Method of application
 Implementation
 Specific protection
 Role of community health nurse
 Summary
 Conclusion
 Refernces

3. Introduction
 Eugenics is an immoral and pseudoscientific
theory that claims it is possible to perfect people
and groups through genetics and the scientific
laws of inheritance.
 Eugenics refers to beliefs and practices aimed at
controlling reproduction in order to “improve” the
characteristics of human populations.
 The term eugenics was coined in 1883 by British
explorer and natural scientist Francis Galton,
who, influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of
natural selection, “the science of good
birth”advocated a system that would allow “the
more suitable races or strains of blood a better
chance of prevailing speedily over the less
suitable.”

4. Meaning of Eugenic
• This word eugenic was coined by Francis Galton in
1883.this word has been derived from two Greek words.
• Eu- Good or well
• Genes- born ( wellborn)
In a broader sense, it is Coming from a Greek word
meaning “good in birth,” the term eugenics refers to a
controversial area of genetic science based on the
belief that the human species can be improved by
encouraging only people or groups with “desirable”
traits to reproduce, while discouraging or even
preventing reproduction among people with
“undesirable” qualities.
Its stated goal is to improve the human condition by
“breeding out” disease, disability, and other subjectively
defined undesirable characteristics from the human
population.

5. MEANING
 Eugenics is the scientifically
erroneous and immoral theory of
“racial improvement” and “planned
breeding,” which gained popularity
during the early 20th century.
 Eugenicists worldwide believed that
they could perfect human beings and
eliminate so-called social ills through
genetics and heredity.

6. Definitions
• Acc. to Francis Galton (1904) Eugenics is the
science which deals with all influences that
improve inborn qualities of a race, also with
those that develop them to almost advantage.

7. Definition
 The study of how to arrange reproduction within
a human population to increase the occurrence
of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable.
 Developed largely by Sir Francis Galton as a
method of improving the human race, eugenics
was increasingly discredited as unscientific and
racially biased during the 20th century.
 Eugenics refers to the use of procedures like
selective breeding and forced sterilization in an
attempt to improve the genetic purity of the
human race.
 Eugenicists believe that disease, disability, and
“undesirable” human traits can be “bred out” of
the human race.

8. Aims of eugenics
• Acc. to British medical association
1. To save the resources.
2. 2. To create healthy people/healthy
community.
3. To have intelligent people or to have
the community free from mentally
retarded people.
4. To decrease the human suffering .

9. FLOW CHART

10. Factors that determine the genetic
health of a Nation
• What kind (genetic makeup) of people
contributes to the ancestors of future
generation?
• What is the type of marriage
practices?
• What is the percentage of existing
children born out of excellent genetic
composition?

11. Eugenic measures
 NEGATIV E EUGENIC VS POSITIVE
EUGENIC S

12. Type of Eugenics
Positive eugenics
• The main purpose of positive eugenics was to achieve
healthy population.
• Positive eugenics encourages reproduction among
genetically advantages population. various ways of
positive eugenics are:-
• In-vitro fertilization ,egg transplant and cloning.
genetically advantages people are encouraged to
assume the
Negative eugenics
• Negative eugenics is concerned with decreasing or
lowering the fertility among genetic disadvantages.
• The various ways of negative eugenics are abortion
,sterilization ,adoption of family planning methods.
Negative eugenics is considered immoral because it:
• Enforces sterilization among genetically defective.

13. POSITIVE EUGENIC
MEASURE
 The positive eugenics attempts to increase consistently better or
desirable germplasm and, thus, to preserve best germplasm of the
society.
 The percentage of desirable traits can be increased by adopting
following measures:
 1. Early Marriage of those having Desirable Traits: It is most
commonly observed fact that the highly placed persons of the
society often have great ambitions for the future life
 .2. Subsidizing the Fit: Because the highly endowed persons lead a
well- planned life and to avoid unnecessary difficulties in nursing the
children they often prefer to have small number of children.
Therefore, the selected young men and women of best eugenic
value should be encouraged to increase their birth rate.
 3. Eutelegenesis or Germinal Choice: H.J. Muller has suggested that
eugenically sound persons not only should increase their family size
but through artificial insemination the outstanding man can serve as
father to many more children than would be otherwise possible. In a
modern technique, a woman’s ovum is taken out and artificially
fertilized in a test-tube. The zygote is then implanted into woman’s
uterus for the embryonic development. The resulting baby is called
test-tube baby.

14. CONTINUED
 4. Education: For the eugenically oriented reforms in the society,
the people should be educated about the basic principles of human
biology, human genetics, eugenics and sex. The children should be
instructed about basic laws of health and they should be encouraged
to develop a physically and mentally healthy body.
 5. By Avoiding Germinal Waste: The wastage of best type of
germplasm can be avoided by adopting following measures: (i) The
selection of marriage partners should be made with intelligence. (ii)
The wars must be avoided because in wars the best germplasm of
the society is wasted.
 6. Improvement of Environmental Conditions: Both heredity and
environment have interrelated role in the development of eugenically
better persons.
 7. Promotion of Genetic Research: Our knowledge about the
genetics is not sufficient enough because we still have little
information’s about various human diseases and metabolic disorders
which are generally related with the genes.
 8. Genetic Engineering: By genetic engineering, it has become
possible to produce various blood clotting factors, complement
proteins (part of immune system) and other substances for the
correction of genetic deficiency diseases (euphenics).

15. NEGATIVE EUGENIC
MEASURE
 The negative eugenics attempts to eliminate the defective
germplasm of the society by adopting following measures:
 1. Sexual Separation of the Defective: The defective
persons may have various sex- linked diseases such as night
blindness, haemophilia, colour blindness, etc., and various
other defective traits which may be regulated by dominant or
recessive genes.
 2. Sterilization: The sterilization is the best means to
deprive an individual from his power of reproduction without
interfering with any of his normal functions.
 3. Control of Immigration: Through immigration there are
enough chances that undesirable or defective genes of
different races and nationalities may intermingle with the
normal germplasm of the population.
 4. Regulation of Marriage: Presently most human societies
are money- minded and for a marriages, relationship like the
wealthy or highly placed persons who, however, may have
several defective genetical traits, are preferred over those
who have economically weak but having eugenically sound
hereditary traits.

16. CONTINUED
 5. Birth Control: People possessing more of undesired,
dysgenic traits should be encouraged to have small families if
at all allowed to reproduce. Their foetuses possessing
dysgenic traits may be destroyed by abortion.
 6. Statutory Ban on Marriage among Close Relatives:
Marriages among close relatives are called consanguineous
marriages. The hidden recessive deleterious (e.g., lethal)
traits can appear in the progeny in full view if both the parents
carry them.
 7. Genetic Counselling: Negative eugenics is most widely
acceptable when it is practiced through genetic counselling.
A voluntary restriction of child bearing by couples with
inherited genetic disorders (e.g., albinism, sickle cell
anaemia, etc.) can be brought about through proper
counselling by well qualified persons in the field. The term
genetic counselling is applied to service, typically available in
medical settings, in which the prospective parents are
provided with the estimates of the probability that they will
produce children with genetically controlled defects.

17. Eugenic measures
 Segregation of mentally ill from
normal
 Birth control
 Genetics counseling
 Negatives eugenics
 Early diagnosis and treatment
 Marriage counseling
 euthenics Positive eugenics

18. From 20th century control
measure
 In many countries in the globe adapted
various eugenics policies and
programmes. They are;
 Birth control
 Genetic screening/counselling
 Promoting differential birth rates
 Marriage restrictions
 Segregation
 Compulsory sterilization
 Forced abortions
 Genocide

19. euthenics
• Euthenics is manipulating
the environment in order
to improve the genotype.
• As environmental factors
are involved such as
smoking , diet , obesity
and lack of exercise in
producing disease such
as cancer, hypertension,
diabetes mellitus &heart

20. Genetics counseling
• Genetic counseling includes screening
of the cases and informing them the
risk of having the affected children.
• It is one of the way to prevent the
occurrence of hereditary disease

21. Marriage restrictions
• Marriage restrictions
among genetically
disadvantaged people
also considered one of
the way to achieve
genetic endowment
among population.
• As marriage among
heterozygous parents of
any defects can give rise
to affected children.

22. Birth control
• The aim of birth control measures as
eugenics is to reduce the frequency of
hereditary disease and disability in the
community to the low level.

23. Early diagnosis and treatment
• Identifying the possibility of congenital
diseases /hereditary diseases
• Some of the genetics diseases if
diagnosed earlier, can be diagnosed
earlier, can be corrected such as
congenital hip displasia,
early diagnosis can be made by
identifying the carriers of genetics
disorder by investigations such as
serum Creatine kinase level to identify

24.  Screening of the babies, once born
for some disease as phenylketonuria,
cystic fibrosis, dislocation of hip etc.
• Early identifying the cases , who are
suffering from disease such as gout ,
Thalassaemia.

25. Segregation of mentally ill from
normal
• There is need to segregate the
mentally ill from normal so as to
prevent the birth of mentally ill child
among community

26. Methods of application of
eugenics
 At Government level
 At an Individual level
 At population level

27.  At government level: government
should make policies and legislation to
achieve healthy community through
eugenics and these should be
implemented and evaluated to see the
effect of these policies and community
health
 At population level: eugenics should
be promoted among general
population through

28. Implementing Eugenics
 The methods of eugenics can be applied in three
main ways they are:
 1. Mandatory Eugenics. In which government
mandates the eugenics programme policies or
legislations are often seen an being conceive and
restrictive.
 2. Promotional voluntary eugenics. In which
eugenics is voluntarily practiced and promoted to
the general population, but officially mandated.
 3. Private eugenics. Which is practiced
voluntarily by individuals and group, but not
promoted to the general population while the
genetic counseling is for the benefit of the
individual, family and to the population as a
whole.

29. SPECIFIC PROTECTION
EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
• Detection of genetic carriers.
• Prenatal diagnosis
• Screening of newborn infants.
• Recognizing preclinical cases
LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETICS
• DNA vaccination
• Biochips
• Human cloning
• Recombinant DNA technology
• Stem cell therapy

30. Role of community health
nurse
• She provide education to people about the hereditary risk for
developing diseases.
• CHN identifies the hereditary diseases among the population
and refer and motivate them to seek medical treatment &
advice.
• She informs the community about the risk and benefits
associated with genetic testing.
• She analysis the data and develop plan to address the
genetics concerns.
• She provides genetic counseling to the people who are either
carrier or diseased of abnormal genetics constitution and
structure.
• She teaches the people about the eugenics methods such as
birth control or marriage restriction etc.
• She takes all measures to provide suitable environment to
people so as to prevent mutation of genes due

31. Summary
 Till now we have discussed about the
eugenic and its importance in health
care services like introduction,
definition, meaning, type, positive,
negative, eugenic measure, method of
application, implementation, specific
protection, role of nurse in eugenic
etc.,

32. Conclusion
 I hope you all understand about the
eugenic of health and its importance
of health by the individual. If you get
chance to work in future will you all
able to apply this knowledge
confidently.

33. Question related to topic
 To Definition eugenic?
 State the Meaning eugenic?
 List out Aim of eugenic?
 Enlist the Types of eugenic?
 Description about positive eugenic?
 Description about negative eugenic?
 Narrate the Eugenic control measure ?
 Discuss the Method of application of eugenic
control ?
 What are way for Implementation ?
 Enlist the Specific protection measure ?
 Role of community health nurse ?

34. Assignment
 Write a assignment on “what are
control measure of eugenic in health
care services “on-------------date---------
---time--------------
 Place-----------------.

35. References
 Park. K. Text book of Preventive & Social
Medicine, M/s Banarsidas Bhanot Publishers
Jabalpur, Latest edition.
 Suryakantha.H A. Community Medicine-with
Recent Advances, Jaypee Brothers Medical
Publishers, New Delhi.
 Gupta MC & Mahajan BK. Text Book of
Preventive and Social Medicine, Jaypee
Brothers Medical Publishers, New Delhi.
 Gulani.K.K. Community Health Nursing.
Principles & practice. Kumar Publishing
House, New Delhi.
 Swarankar K. Community Health Nursing,
N.R. Brothers, Indore.