Eugenics: The Hydra of the West
As his second labor, Heracles was tasked with killing the Hydra, a massive serpent with nine heads—eight mortal and one immortal. It lived in the swamp near Lerna. Heracles rode there in a chariot driven by his nephew Iolaus. Upon arrival, Heracles forced the Hydra out of its den by shooting flaming arrows at it. As the beast emerged, he seized it, but it wrapped itself tightly around his leg.
Every time Heracles smashed one of the Hydra’s heads, two more would grow back. To make matters worse, a giant crab came to the Hydra’s aid and bit Heracles’ foot, so he crushed it. Realizing he needed help, Heracles called upon Iolaus. Iolaus set part of the forest on fire and used burning sticks to cauterize the necks after each head was severed, preventing them from growing back.
Eventually, Heracles defeated the creature. He cut off its one immortal head, buried it under a rock, and dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s poisonous blood for use in future battles.
The Hydra of Eugenics
Eugenics, much like the evil Hydra, is a deceptive serpent—slice off one head, and two more appear in its place. Though defeated repeatedly throughout history, its heads continue to rise, both from the extreme left and the extreme right.
At its core, eugenics is the belief in the racial or moral superiority of one group over another. This ideology has led to horrific acts: genocide, forced sterilization, state-encouraged selective breeding, and selective abortions. It is humanity’s attempt to hijack the course of "evolution" to create a so-called super race.
Years before eugenics led to the Holocaust, Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton shouted warnings about its evils. In his 1922 book Eugenics and Other Evils, he wrote:
“The wisest thing in the world is to cry out before you are hurt. It is no good to cry out after you are hurt; especially after you are mortally hurt. People talk about the impatience of the populace; but sound historians know that most tyrannies have been possible because men moved too late. It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists.”²
We must shout now—before it is too late for that wickedness to happen again.
In recent years, I’ve observed that this danger does not arise from one political party alone. The head of this monstrous ideology appears wherever it finds opportunity.
From the left, it manifests in the push for selective abortion of individuals with genetic abnormalities. This has led to a silent holocaust of people with Down syndrome in “culturally advanced” nations like Iceland. As reported by CBS News, “Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women—close to 100 percent—who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.”¹
Yet even on the right, this false doctrine has resurfaced. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, has spoken of seeking a “cure” for autism, personally linking its cause to vaccines—an idea that is both scientifically unfounded and ethically dangerous. He has claimed, “I never saw anybody with autism when I was a kid. I mean, it was just—if you told me that I had six friends that had kids with autism, I would say that’s impossible.”
But this perception stems not from the absence of autism in the past, but from the invisibility of those with it.
Consider the case of Rosemary Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy. She lived with a developmental disability and was hidden from the public eye. At the age of 23, she underwent a lobotomy that left her incapacitated for life. This tragic story highlights how people with disabilities were treated in the past—not as individuals to be supported, but as problems to be hidden or eliminated.
For those who are more familiar with autism, you may remember that individuals with low-support needs were once diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. For many years, Hans Asperger was mistakenly believed to be a hero for disabled individuals in Nazi Germany. However, recent historical research has revealed that Asperger actively participated in the Nazi regime’s eugenics program. He referred children with disabilities to the Am Spiegelgrund clinic, where many were killed because they were deemed “unfit” for society.
This dark legacy is part of why the diagnosis of Asperger’s is no longer used officially. It is also a chilling reminder that even movements which claim to support the disabled can be co-opted by eugenicist ideologies.
What Causes Autism?
Autism is caused by a complex interplay of genetic and epigenetic factors. It is not a disease to be cured, but a neurological divergence to be understood and supported.
Today, many individuals with low-support needs are receiving diagnoses that would have been missed in previous generations. These individuals are now growing up, marrying, and having children—leading to more diagnoses in the next generation. If our society seeks to “cure” autism, the real-world consequences would likely echo past atrocities: forced sterilization, selective abortion, and other vile methods.
So, What Is the Answer?
Yes, autism diagnoses are on the rise. That is a fact. So what should Christians do?
We should do what Christ did.
Jesus welcomed and loved the disabled. He never shunned those whom society cast aside—whether into leper colonies or forgotten institutions. He sought healing. For us as believers, this means creating welcoming spaces in our churches for neurodivergent individuals. It means adapting our worship and discipleship practices. It means promoting and funding special education in both public and private schools.
We must confront the wicked serpent of eugenics—no matter which direction it rears its head.
From a medical standpoint, the answer is not eradication but support. Treatments should aim to improve the wellness and functionality of the individual. While I am not a doctor, I have witnessed firsthand how therapies and some medications can drastically improve quality of life. Continued research should focus on adaptation, accommodation, and helping individuals flourish—not on eliminating them.
Let us wield the fire of truth, compassion, and justice as Iolaus did—burning the necks of this many-headed lie wherever they appear.
¹ CBS News – “What kind of society do you want to live in?”: Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing
² G.K. Chesterton, Eugenics and Other Evils, 1922