A Consideration of Prenatal Testing for Disabilities and Eugenics in America

by Molly Olson

This podcast is a reflection on the current fear and controversy surrounding prenatal testing for disability, and selective abortion as a form of eugenics. I discuss the history of eugenics in America (with a focus on the Buck versus Bell case) to provide context for current fears, as well as considering how we can reconcile those fears with current fears regarding the uncertainty of women’s bodily autonomy.