I've done a little reading on my population, which is Down Syndrome, and I actually became sick to my stomach at one point. By the 20th century, apparently people with Down Syndrome were being forced to be sterilized so they could not have children with Down Syndrome because back then, people did not know how someone could have Down Syndrome.
I'm still very interested in the different medical advances that have been made for people with Down Syndrome, so far I have found out that when it was first diagnosed, many people who had Down Syndrome died during infancy due to lack of care.
Hi Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post about what you are learning so far about people with Down Syndrome.
The people who were all for sterilizing people with Down Syndrome did not know everything about genetics, but they did know that Down Syndrome was a hereditary disorder. They were afraid that the number of people with Down Syndrome would increase if they were "allowed" to have children. Those scientists and doctors who believed that people with genetic disorders, or even particular races/ethnicities considered "inferior", were called eugenicists. The "science" that they practiced was called eugenics. The Americans and British were the ones who developed it, but it had been "perfected" by the Nazis.
Keep on going with your research! Isn't it amazing how finding information on a topic can lead to more questions about it?
Professor Wexelbaum