Eugenics and Transhumanism in the Modern Age: The Pursuit of Biological 'Perfection' at What Cost?
August 31, 2016 12:00 ET

The pursuit of biological "perfection" has captured the human imagination for ages. Modern eugenics has a similar underlying philosophy as its predecessor. This lecture will trace the history and philosophy of eugenics and explore how modern eugenics manifests itself today, such as in prenatal and genetic screening and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with the aim of aborting a child with adverse conditions, sex- and race-selective abortions, aborting extra embryos via “selective reduction,” three-parent embryo technologies, gene editing, and human-animal hybrids. Transhumanism claims to have as its goal the transformation of the human condition, but at what cost given its commonalities with eugenics? Join FRC to explore the benefits and consequences of transhumanism to individuals, the health care community, and the family.

Arina O. Grossu, M.A. is the Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, where she focuses on sanctity of human life issues ranging from conception to natural death. Her areas of expertise include abortion, women's health, bioethics, pornography, and sex trafficking.

Ms. Grossu is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She received her M.A. in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies and is pursuing a Master of Science in Bioethics through the University of Mary. She holds a certification in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, is on the board of directors of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, and is a past Leonine Fellow of the Catholic Information Center.

Ms. Grossu has done television interviews on CNN, NBC, ABC, EWTN, CBN, and Voice of America. Her articles and commentary have appeared in USA Today, LA Times, National Review, Bloomberg, The Hill, WORLD Magazine, Fox News, Townhall, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, Daily Caller, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Conservative Review, National Catholic Register, Christian Post, and others. She has presented lectures at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, Trinity International University’s Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, University of Notre Dame, Regent University Law School's Center for Global Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, and Wesleyan University’s Bastian Center for the Study of Human Trafficking.

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