Proto Eugenics and 'Choice'




The Scottish professor Neil McKegany, of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research, suggests implimenting a policy of paying heroin addicts not to have children, by giving cash in return that women take long term contraception. But even worse than this he suggests that those who are already parents be given a year to kick their habits or have their children taken away - permanently, for adoption.

A spokesman from the Catholic Church rightly asked where this would end. Who would be next? Alcoholics? He was probably only too aware of the eugenic undertones of this. Prior to World War II and Hitler's eugenic Reich the Church was the strongest opponent of eugenic ideas that had wide support among the elites. Sadly many progressives found themselves on the wrong side, and bought into destructive ideas of social engineering, the idea that 'inferiors' should be dissuaded from breeding.
Fabians such as Bernard Shaw, the Webbs, and HG Wells supported negative eugenics.
But most notable was the founder of 'Planned Parenthood' Margaret Sanger, the birth control activist and modern 'feminist' heroine.

The proposed policy in Scotland gets bleaker. Worse still, the Labour Party are considering adopting it as part of their manifesto. It is suggested that addicts sign a contract agreeing not to have children. If they breach the contract not only will the children be taken away from them but their methadone prescriptions and State benefits will also be withdrawn.

This in the wake of the tragic deaths of some children who died as a result of neglect by addicted parents. But it is a vicious response that will help nobody. Parents with such problems should be given all the help they need to support their children, along with adequate treatment for addiction geared towards the need of the individuals. They do not need threats like these. Drug addicts have enough problems as it is. I have seen parents who have had their children taken away due to addiction - and the loss has worsened their problems. Losing all you have only makes you want to give up completely, driving you further into despair. Yet the plans wish to make it easier for children to be removed from parents in such situations. If the new plans come into fruition women pregnant while attempting to recover from an addiction will only have two choices - abortion or removal of not only your baby but removal of all else - treatment and benefit. An extremely stark scenario.

While suffering from or attempting to break from an addiction is not the ideal time to have children, but draconian policies like this are not the way to address the issue. The way to address it is via adequate treatment and support - support for both vulnerable parents and children from social services and the community.

The Scottish National Party thankfully opposes such proposals. It is yet another example of New Labour getting 'tough' on the most marginalised groups in society - a classic characteristic of the bully, the powerful attacking the powerless.

It is the same mentality of the eugenicists - any measures necessary to ensure that 'degenerates', 'undesirables' etc, do not reproduce. It is not a war against drugs but a war against the weak and the poor.

Any mention of reducing the upper time limit on abortion and 'pro choice' groups such as 'Abortion Rights' are up in arms. Yet they are silent on matters like these, and the proposed draconian policy did not get the media attention that it should have done.

It is also noteworthy how 'Abortion Rights' are silent over the arrest and trial of the noble Chen Guangcheng for exposing the forced abortions and coercive population policies of the Chinese government. This was a removal of reproductive choice for women, and if they really were in favour of choice they would be wholeheartedly backing him. They cannot argue that they only focus on British law, as this article shows that they do think internationally, at least when it suits them. They are not only silent about Chen but are also silent about forced abortions and coercive population policies full stop. They only care about 'choice' when the choice involved is abortion. The only ' reproductive right' they care about is the right not to reproduce. Their propaganda is full of misinformation. It is high time that these people be exposed as the liars they are, and that the left and trade unions stop giving this group the unconditional support that they do. They quite often get articles published in the left wing press, yet it is very difficult for left wing pro lifers (or even those who simply wish to see restrictions such as a reduction in the current time limit) to get any space. They stop the left from being able to have an open and honest debate on the abortion issue, as they and similiar minded people long ago succeeded in enforcing a false consensus and a climate of fear around this particular shibolleth.

'Reproductive rights' have long been denied in China, and now the British government are talking of denying them to the most vulnerable people in the country. Some of us must speak up against it. An attack on the most marginalised is symtomatic of a wider mentality. It is a dangerous mentality, the pro death ethos, and it must be fought tooth and nail. 'First they came for......'

As the spokesman from the church recognised (and he seemed to have been the only one to have expressed this insight) it may not stop with drug addicts. Hitler in fact began with the mentally ill. Nobody objected to this, and thus he was given leeway to move in on other 'defected' people. Drug addicts occuoy the same kind of position today. They are stereotyped in all kinds of ways and are generally thought of as being if not evil then at least undeserving. But they are people with problems - who need the full dignity and humanity granted to everybody else. Full human dignity is stripped from people when their basic human rights are denied.