Sunday, January 20, 2008

The war children born to Nazi fathers in a sinister eugenics scheme speak out

The chosen ones: The war children born to Nazi fathers in a sinister eugenics scheme speak out

They were the blue-eyed blonds born into a sinister SS scheme to further the Aryan race. But the defeat of the Nazis left Norway's 'Lebensborn' facing the vengeance of an entire nation. Here, five former war children talk for the first time about their ordeal – and their fight for compensation



They stare blankly into the lens, their lips tellingly pursed. All are the Norwegian subjects of a terrifying Nazi experiment. All were involved in one of the most shocking trials of eugenics the world has ever known. All are Lebensborn – the "spring of life". And all are here to tell their stories for the first time.

Read full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3347892.ece

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Times of London Gets It Wrong

On December 23, 2007, the Times of London published an article titled Deaf Demand Right to Designer Children.

The title alone makes the assertion that parents want to create designer deaf children. However, the real issue for deaf parents is not designer deaf babies but that Clause 14 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill does not allow a person to select a deaf embryo.

(9) Persons or embryos that are known to have a gene, chromosome or mitochondrion abnormality involving a significant risk that a person with the abnormality will have or develop—

(a) a serious physical or mental disability,
(b) a serious illness, or
(c) any other serious medical condition,

must not be preferred to those that are not known to have such an abnormality.


So, is deafness a serious medical condition?

During debate in the House of Lord, a statement by Baroness Deech provides even further clarification:

In the scientific field, the Bill confirms the wider use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. That is good. I hope that your Lordships will be pleased that the deliberate choice of an embryo that is, for example, likely to be deaf will be prevented by Clause 14.
Basically, the implications of this legislation will be that if an infertile deaf couple wants to have a child, they will be denied on the basis that embryos associated with genetic deafness (a serious medical condition) are not preferred.


This proposed policy brings back memories of the early 20th century eugenics movement.

Will persons with a deaf brother or sister also be denied from undergoing IVF?

Charlie Davenport most certainly thought it to be a good idea


See also: Eugenics Archive


Hitler was also fond of the concept.

According to the Nazi Sterilization Law (see page 4 below),
not all of these [deaf persons] will be sterilized, though all will be examined with that in view.




All who are interested in eugenics and the neo-eugenics movement will need to stay aware of further developments relating to Clause 14