Eugenics then and now / edited by Carl Jay Bajema.

Date:
[1976], ©1976
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Eugenics then and now / edited by Carl Jay Bajema. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    HEREDITY CLINICS 13 The elimination of defective genes and the overall improvement of human heredity can, in my opinion, best be secured, first, by obtaining more precise information about the mode of heredity of human traits and, second, by pro¬ viding facilities so that families can obtain dependable advice in regard to their heredity. These two objectives can in part be approached together, for, as I have pointed out, the giving of dependable advice to a family often involves a certain amount of research on the mode of heredity of the trait in question in that particular family. The mode of inheritance of human traits and the extent to which hereditary potentialities may be modified by environmental influences and by special treatments must first of all be ascertained through research. Such research can be carried out either in connection with an heredity clinic or independently of such a clinic. It is easier to study the heredity of certain kinds of traits than of others. Special mental ability, temperament, and superior health are particu¬ larly difficult to study, but the role that heredity plays in the production of such traits can also be discovered in time. We are still far from giving research in human heredity the attention that it deserves. The heredity of our population is our most important resource and its study should receive far greater support than it now is securing. Research in genetics, however, will not by itself directly produce any im¬ provement of human heredity. The knowledge of genetics which already has been acquired through research is at present largely unavailable to our people. The best way of providing advice on human heredity to those persons who need such help seems to be through heredity clinics. I urge, therefore, the establish¬ ment in every state of a series of heredity clinics which will cooperate closely with physicians, dentists, hospitals, schools, probate judges, welfare agencies, and others responsible for the public welfare, in order to provide dependable advice on human heredity. It is my firm conviction that such clinics can have a most important effect in improving the heredity of our population. REFERENCES Birthright, Inc. (No date.) Sterilizations reported to January 1, 1949, and maps showing states having sterilization laws. Birthright Pubi. no. 5 : folder. Falls, H. F. 1949. Congenital and hereditary eye diseases. Sight-saving Rev., 19: 2-12. McDowell, E. C. 1946. Charles Benedict Davenport, 1866-1944; a study of conflicting in¬ fluences. Bios. 17: 1-50. MuLLER, H. J. 1950. Our load of mutations. Am. J. Human Genet. 2: 111-176. Neel, J, V. 1951. Some applications of the principles of genetics to the practice of medicine. Med. Clinics N. Am. 35: 519-533. 348