ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to present both perspectives with an emphasis on the fact that the problem of eugenics in its Polish aspects cannot be analysed without historical recollections. The historical context plays an important role in this respect due to developments before and the events during World War II, as well as the geopolitical position of Poland at the time. The concepts of eugenics, understood as an improvement of the human race, already reached the area of Poland in the late 19th century. The embracing of eugenic thought in Poland reflected the growing popularity of writings by Francis Galton and Karl Pearson, known in particular in the academic centres of Lviv, Cracow and Warsaw. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) refers to the genetic profiling of an egg cell or an embryo before implantation, and sometimes even of oocytes before fertilization. Using PDG, it is possible to diagnose at a very early stage several genetic diseases which may potentially burden an embryo.
