A Women's Control of Her Body

An interesting topic that is relevant to our recent class discussions is regarding the relationship between women and eugenics. More specifically, a women's control over her reproductive system.

Eugenics is formally defined as "the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics." The positive relationship that eugenics has with a women's reproductive system is the ability to freeze one's eggs, have access to various forms of birth control, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and the ability to have a surrogate mother. These aspects of controlling one's reproductive system doesn't follow the formal definition of eugenics but does relate to the term. This form of eugenics allows women to control their reproductive system as far as what type of birth control they choose to take (if any), tying ones tubes, and the flexibility of when and how to conceive. Another positive aspect of this type of control is how it can help maintain one's health- whether it's related to cancer, disease, or heritable traits.