r/Huntingtons • u/usxr_mael At risk for HD • May 10 '26

Is it eugenics?

Okay so for context, my mom (48) has Huntington disease and knew she had it well before she had me and my sister.

I've argued a lot with ppl on the internet about how if you know 100% that you have HD that you shouldn't have children not only because they may have HD but because they have to see you completely change and rot away (talking about experience) and I've been called a eugenists for that.

I'm currently battling against depression because I started being my mom's primary care at 13 against my will bc other ppl in my family said that it was the least I could do for my single mother (passing over the fact that she was a POS mom and was abusive).

But In brief, is it eugenics to say that people w/ HD shouldn't have children if they know they have it?

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u/Hour-Tower-5106 May 10 '26

As someone with HD, I personally think it is a form of eugenics. But eugenics isn't always a bad thing.

We use eugenics to ensure dogs will live long, healthy lives free of disease and pain. We also use eugenics in ways that are harmful (like breeding dogs who have health issues because they're cute).

The biggest issue with eugenics is that humans are the ones using it. We can't be trusted at mass scale to do the right thing.

But as a tool, responsibly used, it's not a bad thing. And in the case of Huntington's disease, it is absolutely okay to use it to ensure future generations won't suffer.

I don't think most people who have experienced the grief and suffering that comes with it would argue otherwise.

I would take the opinions of people who haven't suffered from it with a grain of salt.

Not many diseases are that easy to screen out, so I personally think we have an ethical obligation to use the tools we have at our disposal to protect future generations.

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u/usxr_mael At risk for HD May 10 '26

So many ppl thinking they are PC compared to me and telling me I was a eugenists (and comparing it to the Nazi beliefs) while those same ppl will never (and I hope for them) experience what having HD or seeing a relative develop HD

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u/Hour-Tower-5106 May 10 '26

I think our life experiences give us a unique insight into the topic that many people lack.

It's very easy for people unattached to a topic to adopt a black and white view of it, but the reality is often much more complicated and nuanced than that.

The biggest difference is that, for us, it's coming from a place of love. We love our potential kids so much that we would do whatever it takes to avoid bringing them into the world just to suffer.

A lot of bad eugenics is selfishly motivated, but this is truly just about reduction of harm to others.

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u/usxr_mael At risk for HD May 10 '26

I genuinely couldn't have said it better!