Ethical dimensions of yousheng (healthy birth or eugenics): the perspective of a Chinese ethicist.

Abstract

Yousheng meaning eugenics or healthy-birth and youyu meaning good-upbringing are necessary requirements for the development of human beings and therefore of humankind generally. There are enormous ethical issues involved in eugenics. An important task or calling of contemporary bioethics and ethics of population is to discuss these issues in order for people, even people in different countries and cultures, to reach some basic consensus and have practical ethical guidance. Based on the practice of yousheng in contemporary China, this paper offers a Chinese perspective on ethical dimensions of eugenics. It will argue that individuals, as members of society, have a duty to provide society with healthy and normal children. Moreover, this paper examines the relationships between the aim and the means and conflicts between collective value and individual value, in yousheng.