Wednesday, October 05, 2005

State-run eugenics?

I was pointed at this article on Booman Tribune which ranted on about a draft legislation on assisted reproduction in Indiana which would require that the prospective parents, marriage being a requirement, file a "petition for parentage" with an unspecified agency. The piece then proceeds with a feminist trope about this constituting state control of women's bodies.

I took a look at the draft legislation (PDF) and spotted a section which made me question the intent of the draft legislation.

The assessment must follow the normal practice for assessments in a domestic infant adoption procedure and must include the following information:
...
Personal information about each intended parent, including the following:
(A) Family of origin.
(B) Values.
(C) Relationships.
(D) Education.
(E) Employment and income.
(F) Hobbies and talents.
(G) Physical description, including the general health of the individual.
(H) Birth verification.
(I) Personality description, including the strengths and weaknesses of each intended parent.

Hobbies? Talents? Unless the purpose involves eugenics, that makes little sense. It seems to have been copied as boilerplate from adoption considerations.

What is the birth family's racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious background?
...
What is the general physical description of the child's birth parents, siblings, and other close relatives?
...
What are the special skills, abilities, talents, or interests of birth parents and family members?
...
What are the child's special interests, talents, and/or hobbies?

It's rather pointless to preemptively attempt a match of talents and hobbies between prospective parents and a prospective child that hasn't even been conceived. There's nothing to match against. Even cultural and religious considerations aren't relevant, since the child would be immersed in the culture and religion of the parents from early childhood; there's no possibility of culture shock. Blindly treating assisted reproduction as the equivalent of adoption doesn't work.

Furthermore, consideration of the hobbies and talents of prospective donors smacks of state-run eugenics.

Graham and Smith advertised their wares in a highly unglamorous mimeographed catalog. It identified each donor with a color and number, summarized him—"Gifted research biologist at world renowned research center"—and described his personality, manual dexterity, hobbies, athletic achievements, and general health. It also listed standard features such as ethnic ancestry, eye color, skin color, hair color, height, weight, and general appearance.

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