ABSTRACT
Humans and other animals may benefit from the advance of genetic knowledge, but they are also vulnerable to its misuse and abuse. The history of hereditarian thought is replete with examples of individuals and whole segments of the human and animal communities harmed by incomplete knowledge and faulty understanding of heredity. Since the late 1950s, the revolution in genetic knowledge has created a new set of opportunities and, not surprisingly, new ethical problems. On the one hand, the new genetics has made prenatal diagnosis available to prospective parents whose offspring are at risk for inherited diseases or other deleterious conditions. The idea that children inherit the characteristics of their parents has always been an important part of human self-understanding. It is an ancient observation not only about humans, but also about every living plant and animal species. In early twentieth century America, the attention of hereditarian thought focused on the "defective delinquent," formerly known as the "moral imbecile".
