Ian Dowbiggin

Last updated
Ian Robert Dowbiggin
Born1952 (age 71–72)
Alma materUniversity of Rochester, University of Toronto, MacMaster University
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
InstitutionsUniversity of Prince Edward Island
Doctoral students Nancy Rothbard

Ian Robert Dowbiggin FRSC (born 1952) is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Prince Edward Island and writer on the history of medicine, in particular topics such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. His research and publications have been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Associated Medical Services. In 2011, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. [1] He is the brother of Canadian sports broadcaster and author Bruce Dowbiggin.

Contents

Euthanasia

Dowbiggin has written on the history of the euthanasia movement, including A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America (2003) and A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God, and Medicine (2005). He links the rise of euthanasia to an intellectual shift that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, away from the moral precepts of the Judeo-Christian tradition. [2] One important cause of this shift was social Darwinism, which had questioned the right of the "unfit" – such as the mentally handicapped – to live. [2] Along with other intellectual currents such as social progressivism and Unitarianism, this led physicians and people like the founder of the Euthanasia Society of America, Charles Francis Potter, to accept the practice of euthanasia. [2] [3] Dowbiggin, a Catholic, points out that the Catholic Church "unequivocally opposed" sterilization and euthanasia programs, even before the advent of the Nazi euthanasia program, and that the Church is not given credit for that stance. [4]

According to a review of A Concise History of Euthanasia by Sandra Woien in the American Journal of Bioethics , Dowbiggin sees euthanasia and eugenics as the inevitable results of abandoning the moral guidance of religion in medicine. [5] Woien found that the book overemphasised the relationship between eugenics and euthanasia, and muddied "important conceptual and practical distinctions", but allowed that it may be "useful in understanding the historical context of euthanasia." [5]

The Canadian Historical Association awarded Dowbiggin the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize for A Merciful End, stating that the book "gives a clear and evenly-balanced study of the history of euthanasia in the United States since the latter part of the nineteenth century", and concluded that it overall is a "masterful explanation of the way in which changing social, economic and disease-related factors have affected public interest in euthanasia." [6]

Dowbiggin has spoken against euthanasia legislation and said that the Netherlands exists as a "cautionary lesson" for Canada in particular, showing that those places that "take a permissive attitude to assisted suicide keep pushing the boundaries." [7]

Sterilization

Dowbiggin published the book The Sterilization Movement and Global Fertility in the Twentieth Century in 2008. Drawing on scholarly sources, the book is primarily an account of sterilization as used for the purposes of eugenics and population control, examples including the use of sterilization by European fascists and the Indian mass sterilization program carried out during the 1975–1977 Emergency in India, which contributed to the downfall of Indira Gandhi's government. [8]

Ulf Högberg, guest researcher of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University, argued in the European Journal of Public Health that, "The book is most impressive, finely tuning the history between choice and compulsion of sterilization policy; sometimes it has been a fine line in between, sometimes an abyss of abuse of human rights." [9]

A review in The New England Journal of Medicine, by Carolyn Westhoff, an official of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, summed up by agreeing with the book's conclusion that "advocacy of sterilization as a solution to population growth leads to serious problems when that agenda overrides individual values and individual autonomy", but differed from it in stating that "Voluntary sterilization, however, deserves its great popularity and will remain valuable as one part of a broader menu of options for family planning." [8]

Partial bibliography

Personal life

Dowbiggin is one of five sons born to Mary and Bill Dowbiggin in Montreal. [10] His brother Bruce Dowbiggin is a sports broadcaster and author. [11] His grandfather fought in World War I and four of his family members fought in World War II with Canada. [12]

Related Research Articles

Euthanasia is the practise of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugenics</span> Aim to improve perceived human genetic quality

Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or promoting those judged to be superior. In recent years, the term has seen a revival in bioethical discussions on the usage of new technologies such as CRISPR and genetic screening, with heated debate around whether these technologies should be considered eugenics or not.

Joseph Francis Fletcher was an American professor who founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics. Fletcher was a leading academic proponent of the potential benefits of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, eugenics, and cloning. Ordained as an Episcopal priest, he later identified himself as an atheist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compulsory sterilization</span> Government policies which force people to undergo surgical sterilization

Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, is a government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually done through surgical procedures. Several countries implemented sterilization programs in the early 20th century. Although such programs have been made illegal in most countries of the world, instances of forced or coerced sterilizations persist.

The American Eugenics Society (AES) was a pro-eugenics organization dedicated to "furthering the discussion, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge about biological and sociocultural forces which affect the structure and composition of human populations". It endorsed the study and practice of Eugenics in the United States. Its original name as the American Eugenics Society lasted from 1922 to 1973, but the group changed their name after open use of the term "eugenics" became disfavored; it was known as the Society for the Study of Social Biology from 1973-2008, and the Society for Biodemography and Social Biology from 2008–2019. The Society was disbanded in 2019.

The Adelphi Genetics Forum is a non-profit learned society based in the United Kingdom. Its aims are "to promote the public understanding of human heredity and to facilitate informed debate about the ethical issues raised by advances in reproductive technology."

Voluntary euthanasia is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years.

William Gordon Lennox was an American neurologist and epileptologist who was a pioneer in the use of electroencephalography (EEG) for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. He graduated from Colorado College and Harvard Medical School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazi eugenics</span> Nazi German policy of the murder of "undesirable" persons from the German people

Nazi eugenics refers to the social policies of eugenics in Nazi Germany, composed of various ideas about genetics. The racial ideology of Nazism placed the biological improvement of the German people by selective breeding of "Nordic" or "Aryan" traits at its center. These policies were used to justify the involuntary sterilization and mass-murder of those deemed "undesirable".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EngenderHealth</span>

EngenderHealth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. with a focus in sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The organization operates in nearly 20 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and North and South America.

Paul A. Lombardo is an American legal historian known for his work on the legacy of eugenics and sterilization in the United States. Lombardo’s foundational research corrected the historical record of the 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case of Buck v. Bell. He found Carrie Buck’s school grades and the grades of her child Vivian. He was the last person to interview her, and he discovered the pictures of all three generations of the Buck family. In 2002, he sponsored and paid for a memorial plaque that was installed in Buck’s hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugenics in the United States</span>

Eugenics, the set of beliefs and practices which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population, played a significant role in the history and culture of the United States from the late 19th century into the mid-20th century. The cause became increasingly promoted by intellectuals of the Progressive Era.

Involuntary euthanasia, typically regarded as a type of murder, occurs when euthanasia is performed on a person who would be able to provide informed consent, but does not, either because they do not want to die, or because they were not asked.

Maurice Généreux is a Canadian physician who was convicted in 1998 of prescribing medications to two HIV-positive men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1996—medications that allowed the men, Mark Jewitt and Aaron Mcginn, to commit suicide in 1996. Généreux was the first doctor in North America to be convicted of assisting a suicide.

The history of eugenics is the study of development and advocacy of ideas related to eugenics around the world. Early eugenic ideas were discussed in Ancient Greece and Rome. The height of the modern eugenics movement came in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Following the Mexican Revolution, the eugenics movement gained prominence in Mexico. Seeking to change the genetic make-up of the country's population, proponents of eugenics in Mexico focused primarily on rebuilding the population, creating healthy citizens, and ameliorating the effects of perceived social ills such as alcoholism, prostitution, and venereal diseases. Mexican eugenics, at its height in the 1930s, influenced the state's health, education, and welfare policies.

Erika Ellen Dyck is a Canadian historian. She is a professor of history and Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. In 2014, Dyck was inducted to the New College of Scholars, Artists and Scientists at the Royal Society of Canada.

Marian Stephenson Olden (1881–1981) was an American eugenics activist and an influential figure in the sterilization movement. She founded the Sterilization League of New Jersey in 1937, which unsuccessfully lobbied for New Jersey to pass a law enabling the compulsory sterilization of those considered unfit to procreate. In the years following World War II, the sterilization movement distanced itself from Olden, whose increasingly unpopular views on compulsory sterilization, and abrasive, uncompromising personality were seen as liabilities. The Sterilization League, then known as Birthright Inc., formally severed ties with Olden in 1948.

The Euthanasia Educational Fund was established by of the Euthanasia Society of America in 1967 as a tax-exempt organization under US law. It later renamed itself the Euthanasia Educational Council in 1972, and Concern for Dying in 1978. The last name change was due to popular misconception that euthanasia referred to so-called "mercy killing", which the society opposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones</span> American activist

Eleanor Dwight Cook Robertson Jones, known professionally as Mrs. F. Robertson Jones, was an American suffragist, feminist, and writer. She was president of the American Birth Control League from 1928 to 1935.

References

  1. ↑ "Class of 2011: List of New Fellows" (PDF). Royal Society of Canada . September 8, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Weikart, Richard (2004). "Killing Them Kindly: Lessons from the euthanasia movement". California State University. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  3. ↑ Larson, Edward (2004). "Review: Euthanasia in America: Past, Present, and Future: A Review of a "Merciful End" and "Forced Exit"". Michigan Law Review . University of Michigan Law School. 102 (6): 1245–1262. doi:10.2307/4141944. JSTOR   4141944.
  4. ↑ Dowbiggin, Ian. "Why is Anti-Catholicism Tolerated?". Catholic Education Resource Center. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 Woien, Sandra (2007). "Review of Ian Dowbiggin, A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God, and Medicine and Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie, Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia" (PDF). American Journal of Bioethics . Taylor & Francis. 7 (11): 50–52. doi:10.1080/15265160701638736 . Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ Canadian Historical Association (2003). "The Wallace K. Ferguson Prize" . Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ Casey, Donna (November 2, 2007). "Debating euthanasia". CNews . Sun Media. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. 1 2 Carolyn L. Westhoff, M.D. (2008). "The Sterilization Movement and Global Fertility in the Twentieth Century". N Engl J Med . Massachusetts Medical Society. 359 (17): 1854–1855. doi:10.1056/NEJMbkrev0804703.
  9. ↑ Ulf Högberg (November 11, 2008). "Ian Dowbiggin, The sterilization movement and global fertility in the twentieth century". European Journal of Public Health . Oxford University Press. 19 (1): 121. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckn112 .
  10. ↑ "Mary Dowbiggin Obituary". National Post. 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  11. ↑ "How Unhappiness Became Depression: The False Hope Of Getting Doctors To Make Us Happy". notthepublicbroadcaster.com. May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Bruce Dowbiggin: Honouring the flowers of society". sportsnet.ca. November 9, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
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