Roundtable discussion: "Does genetic and genomic screening keep open the door to eugenics?"

In December 2021, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) hosted a historic symposium that addressed the history of eugenics and scientific racism and their complex legacies in the modern health sciences. The symposium illustrated the urgent need for more public discussion on the connection between existing and emerging genetic and genomic screening technologies and the legacies of eugenics. 

Eugenics and scientific racism are immoral and pseudoscientific ideologies and practices that have historically been used to marginalize and dehumanize both individuals and groups. Those practices continue to harm people in the U.S. and worldwide, despite having been rejected by NIH, NHGRI and the scientific community.

Join us on Wednesday, May 25, as scholars and scientists answer audience questions and address the complexities surrounding historical and present-day eugenics and scientific racism in the context of existing and developing genetic and genomic screening technologies. 

This will include characterizing the historical connections between the eugenics movement and genetic counseling, as well as charting the development of contemporary genetic counseling, reproductive choice and clinically informed decision-making.  

Using the context of eugenics and scientific racism, the panelists will also discuss significant societal, ethical and philosophical issues surrounding preimplantation genetic diagnosis, noninvasive prenatal testing, and newborn sequencing and screening. 

REGISTER HERE