Final answer:
Modern practices akin to eugenics include 'designer babies', where traits like sex or intelligence might be selected, raising ethical concerns and fears of discrimination. Past explicit eugenic practices, like forced sterilizations and reproductive laws targeting people with disabilities, have been widely discredited but contribute to the sensitivity of this topic.
Step-by-step explanation:
Eugenics is a controversial field whose goal is to improve the genetic makeup of the human race, and it experienced significant attention in the early 20th century. However, the eugenics movement became infamous with the rise of Nazi Germany and its crimes against humanity, leading to a widespread disavowal of the practice. Nonetheless, ethical concerns arise about modern-day practices that could be considered a form of eugenics, particularly with advancements in genetic engineering and reproductive technologies.
Today, discussion often centers around the concept of 'designer babies', where parents might select traits for their children such as sex, attractiveness, strength, intelligence, or disease resistance. While this is claimed to maximize the chances of a healthy child, it raises ethical questions and fears that this could be a new form of eugenics if it leads to discrimination or the enhancement of certain phenotypes over others. In the past, more overt eugenic practices included forced sterilizations and laws against reproduction among people with disabilities or those considered 'feeble minded', with some of these programs continuing into the 1970s in places like North Carolina.