‘We’re in bold times’: Resurgence of eugenics-coded health policies, products in US

The words reporters use and how publications tell stories can play a significant role in challenging ideas that are harmful to people with disabilities, according to a panel at HJ26.

Leading journalists and disability advocates said reporters and editors have a responsibility to identify and push back on policies and actions that contribute to a “resurgence” of eugenics – a scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be “improved through selective breeding of populations.” 

Ericka A. Dixon, a senior national organizer with the Disability Project at the Transgender Law Center, said their organization offers resources to help journalists report on marginalized disabled communities more effectively. They said that involves identifying two core concepts that can contribute to the presence or growth of eugenics-based ideas and policies: ableism and healthism. 

Ableism refers to discrimination towards people with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disabilities based on a belief that non-disabled bodies and minds are superior. Healthism can accompany or inform ableism by framing “health” as an individual responsibility, which then leads to a belief that disability or sickness is a result...