What did the Eugenics movement involve?

• A. Sterilization and segregation of disabled people
• B. Universal education
• C. Access to voting
• D. Political rights

Answer: (B)

The idea behind the Eugenics movement was to “improve” the human population by controlling who could reproduce, based on beliefs about heredity and fitness. This led to coercive and discriminatory policies that targeted people considered genetically unfit, especially those with disabilities, and sometimes certain racial or ethnic groups. The practical effects included forced or coerced sterilization, and segregation or institutionalization of disabled individuals, along with attempts to restrict marriage or immigration for certain groups. Education or propaganda might be used to spread eugenic ideas, but that isn’t what the movement aimed to achieve in practice. These policies directly challenged bodily autonomy and civil rights, illustrating how eugenics prioritized supposed genetic betterment over individual rights. In short, the core actions were sterilization and segregation of disabled people, not universal education.