As Todd Butterfield points out on an ID the Future episode, we may mistakenly think of eugenics as a horror from the history of a century ago, from which all good people pulled back in disgust when they saw the science, or pseudoscience, embraced to the fullest by Nazi Germany.

But Discovery institute’s Wesley Smith reminds us that eugenic practice is a frontier currently being explored, prominently, by China in the form of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), allowing for the selection of preferred babies and the disposal of others. Ostensibly intended to combat disease, it’s equally possible to pick embryos for life for other reasons entirely. The technique is ripe for abuse, to say the least.

Wesley explains that, as a tyranny, China is a Wild West of sorts for unethical science, with the government and its researchers answering to no one. And he worries of an international “race to the bottom” as other countries bow to pressure and follow Chinese scientists where they lead. It’s chilling — human life as a “resource,” available to be exploited. Listen to the new podcast here.

Photo: Summer Palace, Beijing, by wtaochina2001, via Pixabay.