Eugenics as a cultural and historical context for social work with the family

The social discourse on the use of knowledge in the field of genetic research involving both supporters as well as opponents. First, pointing to the medical aspects, emphasize new possibilities for prevention and treatment of diseases. Others warn against the temptation associated with the manipulation of human nature through sex selection, genetic features children or patching or muscles. As stated Marek Drwięga the problem (and the related moral dilemmas) occurs when - instead of the treatment of diseases - people use gene therapy to "improve their physical and mental faculties" to the consequences "as a unit better to" find themselves "above norm ". The variety of positions and the lack of clarity in the expression of individual opinion partly due to the fact that technological progress is much faster than moral reflection. This leads - according to Michael Sandel - a situation in which people express their concern about reaching into the language of autonomy, justice and individual rights. Unfortunately, this "moral" vision of the world does not bring relief to people and does not release them from anxiety, as they continue to answer the fundamental questions concerning, inter alia, the design of children or human cloning remain open. In the context of genetic engineering and biotechnology is increasingly appearing concept of eugenics - invented in the nineteenth century by Francis Galton and meaning "well-born" - which is the "gate" to the in-vitro procedure. In today's world, where thanks to advanced technologies dominate pleasure, convenience and comfort, eugenics may be manipulating the eternal laws of nature in order to "breed a man without any dysfunction and deficits, or to bring into being an artificial being, human-like in appearance only, and characterized by excellent physical and mental efficiency." The purpose of our article is, therefore, a reflection on the risks associated with the formation of new sources of inequality and identity wounds, which is particularly important in the field of contemporary social work with the family.