n order to combat genetic disease, genetic engineering may (and frequently does in fact) rely upon eugenics, the science that deals with the improvement of heredity. Stated simply, a positive eugenics program seeks to develop superior qualities in man through the propagation of his superior genes; with the positive eugenists seeking to produce a 'new breed' with keener and more creative intelligence. Contrariwise, a negative eugenics program attempts only to eliminate genetic weaknesses. When seen in application, positive eugenics programs encourage the fit and 'proper' individuals to reproduce, while negative eugenics programs discourage the less fit and those with inheritable diseases from procreating. Abortion is one way of implementing a program of negative eugenics after earlier measures of regulation have failed.
The Yin and the Yang are the two great principles of Chinese Taoism. Yin is the feminine, negative and passive principle. Yang is the masculine, positive and active principle. At times they oppose, and at other times they combine. If they are separated, no manifestation of any kind is any longer possible. Man's health depends upon the harmonious interaction of both the yin and the yang. The simple purpose of this essay will be to explore the extent to which yin-yang influences or relationships exist and are found within eugenics as a directive force in the science of genetics and to thereby test the extent of their dependence or their independence as an influence in modern family planning.
George P. Smith II, Eugenics and Family Planning: Exploring the Yin and the Yang, 8 U. TASMANIA L. REV. 4 (1984).