Eugenics in France
Notwithstanding the subsequent trial of Nazi doctors in Nuremberg for crimes against humanity, the eugenics ideology continued to be defended, albeit briefly, by biologist Jean Rostand during the 1950s.
The advent of a novel form of eugenics in France, akin to that observed in other Western countries, has given rise to a series of ethical dilemmas concerning medical practices since the 1990s, particularly in the aftermath of the Perruche case [fr].
[5] Anne Carol [fr], whose thesis focuses on French eugenics, highlights the difficulties posed by this subject, particularly in terms of anachronism (reinterpreting the past in light of knowledge about the Nazi genocide).
[46] Historian of science Alexandre Moatti [fr] offers a nuanced perspective on this observation, highlighting that despite the limited practical applications, the theoretical development of eugenic ideas in France was both early and highly sophisticated.
[60]During the first half of the nineteenth century, pre-eugenic manuals placed significant emphasis on the concept of love within couples, positing that this emotional bond was instrumental in yielding offspring who were both aesthetically pleasing and robust.
Arthur de Gobineau's influential Essay on the Inequality of Human Races (1853–1855) introduced a racial dimension to this discourse, establishing classifications and unveiling what Catherine Bachelard-Jobard, a legal scholar, has termed "conceptual articulations characteristic of eugenics.
[64] The theory of degeneration gained significant traction among journalists, politicians, and the general public,[63] fostering a milieu conducive to the emergence of a medical approach to deviant behavior in the mid-nineteenth century.
[106] The official establishment of the SFE transpired on January 29, 1913,[105] with approximately 60% of its constituents being medical professionals, including the pediatrician Adolphe Pinard and the Nobel Prize-winning physician Charles Richet.
[123] Notably, Paul Schiff, who had firmly condemned eugenics in an article published in 1946 in ‘’Les Temps modernes’’, denounced "the somewhat disdainful silence" of his colleagues (psychoanalysts and alienists) in the face of Nazi practices.
[136][50] Historian and Inserm research director Jean-Paul Gaudillière further asserts that the careers of Eugène Apert and Raymond Turpin underscore the historical accuracy of a nuanced perspective, one that acknowledges the complexity of the rupture caused by World War II and the consequences of the criticism of Nazi eugenics.
In 1956, Turpin expressed concern about the survival rates of handicapped babies: Progressive improvements in general hygiene and nutrition, increasing possibilities in the fight against sterility, in utero mortality, and neonatal mortality, counteract natural selection, and one is right to expect a better survival rate for fragile eggs and embryos, which provide a significant contingent of malformed newborns.During the 1970s, a logic informed by scientific progress and eugenics, which sought to "track chromosomal anomalies as errors of nature requiring correction," gradually gained traction in France.
[81][149] In addition, Carol's research underscores how the depopulation that ensued in the aftermath of World War I engendered a societal environment that proved to be incongruent with the pursuit of sterilization and abortion policies.
[21][172] Pinard, who concurrently held the position of deputy, undertook the initiative of assembling a cadre of SFE-affiliated medical professionals to develop a certification program, the objective of which was to empower these individuals with substantial regulatory authority over marital unions and the selection of prospective parents.
[99] In his 1935 work Man, The Unknown,[125] Carrel proposed the gassing of criminals and the mentally ill.[136] This book, a major success in France, was translated into approximately twenty languages:[178][179] A naive effort is made by civilized nations to preserve useless and harmful beings.
[182] Carrel was among the first to introduce transhumanist concepts such as "biocracy" and "androtechnics,"[183] advocating for the elimination of tens of thousands of individuals considered to be detrimental to humanity's future through forced sterilization or euthanasia.
[196] However, the French Association of Handicap People [fr] (APF) denounced the lack of a clear ban on these practices in 1996 and 1997, stating that "each adjustment with ethics is ultimately a further step toward de facto eugenics.
"[208] He asserts the existence of an uninterrupted lineage between the historical eugenic ideology espoused by Georges Vacher de Lapouge and the preventive medicine of the 21st century,[209] particularly concerning the establishment of a medical boundary between the normal and the pathological.
[210] Jacques Milliez [fr] postulates a continuity between the writings of Charles Richet, who advocated for the "elimination of the abnormal," and the arguments justifying medical abortion for disability or illness, despite a difference in intentionality.
[232] A further inquiry pertains to the universal consideration of certain mutated genes within the human species as defective and therefore subject to elimination, given the potential for genetic diseases to confer a situational selective advantage.
[234] According to the bioethics study published by the French Council of State in 2009, eugenics "can also be the collective result of a series of converging individual decisions made by future parents, in a society where the search for the 'perfect child,' or at least one free from many serious afflictions, prevails."
But doesn't it, on the contrary, introduce an elastic concept that time and customs will eventually stretch?French society's acceptance of birth selection, a practice aimed at avoiding certain genetic disorders and disabilities, such as Down syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis, has given rise to a series of profound ethical questions.
Additionally, it has led to inquiries into the expectations of future parents regarding medical interventions, particularly the demand for embryo selection based on predetermined criteria, such as the prevention of diseases like asthma or diabetes.
"[256] Physician Didier Sicard [fr] adds that "parents who wish for the birth of these children must, in addition to the suffering associated with the disability, expose themselves to the community's judgment and a form of social cruelty born from the fact that they did not accept the proposal made by science and ratified by law.
In his article, Maroteaux compellingly argued that the prevailing societal attitudes concerning height, weight, and social status have led to a situation where individuals who do not conform to these standards face significant challenges, including the denial of basic rights.
[258] In her 1997 thesis, Corinne Assouline observes that the detection of pseudoachondroplasia, a condition marked by very short stature and a distinctive facial appearance without intellectual disability, is accepted in 80% of cases as grounds for medical abortion.
[262] Jacques Testart [fr], a vocal critic of the eugenic implications of certain medical techniques, particularly preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), has long warned against the role of doctors and scientists as mere "executors of the normative fantasy.
[268] In the subsequent years, the scope of prenatal screening expanded to encompass a range of additional conditions, including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and fragile X syndrome, among others.
[271] The eugenic implications emerge as a result of the criteria that influence parents' decisions to opt for IMG, with this choice being shaped by their personal preferences (along with their economic and social circumstances), rather than those of the unborn child.
[280] Doctors Pierre Jalbert and Georges David have posited that techniques based on sperm and egg donation give rise to a eugenic question, given the selection process that occurs among donors under medical supervision, encompassing factors such as fertility and "genetic quality," with matching criteria.
"[283] Germline therapy, a procedure that was initially studied and promoted by geneticist Daniel Cohen [fr] in 1993[225] and subsequently by physician Jacques Milliez in 1999,[284] involves the correction of genetic defects directly in the father's sperm.
