The Fertility of the Unfit offers a provocative look at how societies try to shape who may procreate. It weighs ethics, law, and science in a debate that still echoes today.
This edition presents a historical examination of birth rates, public policy, and what counts as a healthy society. It argues that state policy has far-reaching effects on who can have children, and it probes controversial ideas about sterilization, marriage health reports, and the responsibilities of individuals and the state.
- Explore the moral questions behind attempts to control reproduction and who should be allowed to marry.
- Learn how historians and scholars have framed the balance between public health and personal rights.
- Examine early ideas about sterilization, family history, and the role of medical experts in marriage decisions.
- Understand arguments about the responsibilities of the state to protect or limit fertility across classes.
Ideal for readers of social history and debates around public policy, medicine, and ethics who want to understand how past discussions shape current conversations.