Incentives to abort the handicapped? Australian proposal decried as reprise of eugenics
November 14, 2008
An Australian parliamentary bloc has proposed financial incentives to encourage mothers to abort handicapped babies. The suggestion, contained in a report submitted by 41 members of the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, drew a horried reaction from Senator Ron Boswell of Queensland, who commented: "This revisiting of eugenics principles is repugnant to a society that prides itself on the contribution of all." The report suggested that it would be less expensive to subsidize abortions than to pay the cost of services for handicapped people. Several of the lawmakers who endorsed the report have subsequently repudiated that suggestion.
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