What do Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, and James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix, have in common? They both are believers in eugenics.
I’m sure there were many shocked gasps as the story unfolded about the very famous Nobel Prize-winning scientist, James Watson (who was the co-discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix) making the statement that he believes Africans and Europeans have different levels of intelligence. No really. He did make that statement.
Watson was quoted in the London Sunday Times as saying that he did not hold out much hope for Africa, because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really.”
“This is not the first time Watson’s speaking engagements have caused a stir.” The article goes on to say that “The Independent catalogued a series of controversial statements from Watson, including one in which he reportedly suggested women should have the right to have abortions if tests could determine their children would be homosexual.”
Oh really? I guess he’s counting on finding a homosexual gene for that…
Again, Watson was speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, when he postulated about a possible link between the amount of melanin in skin and a person’s sex drive.
“That’s why you have Latin lovers,” he said, according to some attendees of the lecture. “You’ve never heard of an English lover. Only an English patient.”
What must people think about these types of prejudiced statements by such a supposedly enlightened evolutionary scientist? How can someone who allegedly is so well educated hold such antiquated views about people from ethnic backgrounds different from his?
Let me put forward I believe some of the fault lies with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The book’s original title was, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”
The Preservation of favoured races… I would have to assume that “favored races” means for all species, including man. This is an underlying theme for Darwin’s theory. Consider the time period the theory was written in. Whites and blacks were not considered equals in any sense of the word. I’m pretty sure that almost all people in that day thought that way, save a few very passionate abolitionists, both Christian and non-Christian. It was, after all, 1859. But Darwin, with all his “progressive scientific” ideas, was more popular than one would have thought, even in such conservative times.
Things have changed, haven’t they? Maybe not so much. Liberal social groups sometimes use derrogatory statements or photos to get their point across without regard of their appropriateness or their racially inflammatory inferences. For example, below is a photo displayed at a recent “peace” rally:
If a conservative group had displayed a similar sign with a black democratic leader compared to a simian, chances are it would have made headlines worldwide, and debated for weeks on mainstream media outlets, with angry black leaders screaming for an apology (and rightly so!). But this derrogatory, blatantly racist poster was not only displayed in the “peace” rally, it went no further because it suited their liberal agenda and it’s purposes at the time. In other words, the mainstream media ignored it.
Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, was another big fan of Darwin’s theory and the theories that sprang from the philosophies of Darwin’s disciples. Havelock Ellis was one of Margaret’s many lovers, and he was also a protege’ of Francis Galton, Darwin’s cousin and the man who systemized eugenic philosophy.
Dr. George Grant, in his shocking 1995 expose’ of the Margaret Sanger the public really doesn’t know titled Killer Angel, says, “…it was not simply politics or sentiment that drew Margaret into the eugenic fold. She was thoroughly convinced that the ‘inferior races’ were in fact ‘human weeds’ and a ‘menace to civilization.’
Dr. Grant goes on to assert, “Her greatest aspiration was ‘to create a race of thoroughbreds’ by encouraging ‘more children from the fit, and less from the unfit.’ And the only way to achieve that dystopic goal, she realized, was through the harsh and coercive tyranny of Malthusian Eugenics.”
Once Margaret gained a semblence of stature in Eugenics and socialist circles, she made good use of some of the most hated and powerful figures in history. One of Margaret’s close friends and advisors had also been an advisor to an infamous tyrant murderer named Hitler. Ernst Rudin, who was Hitler’s director of genetic sterilization, wrote an article which Margaret happily published in 1933 titled “Eugenic Sterilization: An Urgent Need”.
Margaret Sanger held deep resentments toward those she considered “weeds”, and those resentments were fueled into a hatred which spurred her to begin a whole new movement to cleanse society of those she considered inferior. The Birth Control Review which she edited and her organization, the Birth Control League, was the predecessor for today’s abortion mills run by Planned Parenthood.
Approximately 94% of Planned Parenthood’s abortuaries are located in poor, urban areas predominately populated by blacks. Since 1973, a full 13 MILLION blacks have been aborted, with a remaining population of about 31 million… this is about the equivilant of one out of every four black children being killed. (http://www.blackgenocide.org/black.html)
Abortion advocates decry attempts to connect much of Sanger’s philosophy with their present goals as an organization. However, recent statements by Planned Parenthood claim to be proud of it’s history and the heritage that Margaret Sanger left for them. Faye Wattleton, one of Planned Parenthoods past presidents, said,
“As we celebrate the 100th birthday of Margaret Sanger, our courageous leader, we should be very proud of what we are and what our mission is. It is a very grand mission; abortion is only the tip of the iceberg.” Faye Wattleton, president Planned Parenthood Federation of America, speech, February 5, 1979.
It makes me wonder what the rest of the iceberg looks like.
Is this the pervasive opinions of evolutionist believers? Probably not across the board. However, the theory of evolution cannot avoid the implications of their theory on society and societies moral choices. Do other organizations also have such inauspicious beginnings? Are there ulterior motives for other types of scientific studies or organizational ethics?
Watson’s comments were not necessarily only a product of his belief in Evolution, but also of the more sinister philosophy of eugenics. Eugenics is the marriage of certain scientific opinions and how they effect some people’s views regarding the inherent value of other human beings. It also gave some people the idea that humans can be genetically perfected, which in kind meant that in order to achieve human perfection, sub-standards would need to be eliminated. Many times, Watson indicated he would like to see certain types of people “genetically eliminated”, such as fat people, stupid people, etc. This would be assuming that genetic markers could be found for each of these “genetic maladies.” It is the basis for a pseudo-science called transhumanism, whereas humans can be engineered for certain genetic strengths. Watson wanted to use genetic markers to eliminate those he deemed inferior. He has been quoted as saying he believed in selective abortion for women who were pregnant with those who would be predisposed to homosexuality, assuming again that a genetic marker for this “abnormality” could be discovered through genetic testing. Other incidences involving Watson indicated a prejudice against people effected by autism and other mental disorders. Apparently he thinks people like himself with their gangly feet stuck in their big mouths are perfectly fine.
It is essential to know our history. All of it. We can’t rely only on what is written in school text books for a full understanding of our past, since more often than not there are political and social agendas that tend to help rewrite history. Not everything is as it seems… everybody has their skeletons. And everybody has their true colors. Just watch closely enough and long enough and eventually they will come out.
The Bible puts all humans on a level playing field. It says that God created man in His own image. The New Testament indicates that in Christ, all are equal and gives equal dignity to both free and slave, male and female, etc. “All are one in Christ Jesus.” Christianity assumes that all human beings are designed for dignity. This is why pro-life organizations are predominately Christian. Many Christians were very active in the Abolitionist movements of earlier centuries, such as William Wilburforce.
“Africa! Africa! Your sufferings have been the theme that has arrested and engages my
heart—your sufferings no tongue can express; no language impart.” William Wilburforce In his 1792 motion for the abolition of the slave trade.
“I confess to you so enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear,
that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition.” William Wilburforce Speech on abolition of slave trade on May 12, 1789.
Apparently, Wilburforce had a much better hope for Africa then than Watson does now.
For more info, check out these sites:
A site for the history of the American Eugenics Movement:
and an active eugenics site promoting these ideas:
The Godless would deny and destroy human rights …. the liberties of a nation cannot be secure when belief in God is abandoned.
U.S. Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson