2021 Volume 87 Issue 4 Pages 139-160
This paper tries to provide precise understanding of the historical background and current status of prenatal diagnosis from the standpoint of historical studies of Japanese eugenics. SectionⅠargues that the prototype of the prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling in the modern era were not sterilization laws such as the 1940 National Eugenic Law and the 1948 Eugenic Protection Law, but rather eugenic marriage and genetic counseling in the prewar era. SectionⅡdiscusses the status of the argument about abortion for fetal abnormality, amniotic diagnosis, and genetic counseling. Especially, this paper relativizes the stereotypes generated by the disability rights and women’s liberation movements, and tries to understand trends in prenatal diagnosis by utilizing oral histories from the Fukuoka area. Moreover, this paper stresses that the existence of voluntary eugenics has been wrongfully neglected in the historical studies of eugenics in Japan, and that the introduction of amniotic diagnosis in the 1970s should be included in that consideration. Taking cognizance of the above factors, this paper tries to situate prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling within the history of eugenics, while at the same time looking ahead to a better understanding of the history and current state of prenatal diagnosis and eugenics.
