Lessons of History

For now, extreme caution guides most politicians in Germany, at least with respect to its laws governing the use of embryonic stem-cells. In contrast to Germany, most countries in Europe, like the UK and Sweden, boast rather liberal policies with regard to the experimentation on such stem-cells. The Nazi obsession with eugenics and racial purity in the last century perhaps affords Germans a unique perspective on the apocalyptic dangers that flow from the exploitation and manipulation of human life. Catholics in that country, in and out of government, are fighting tooth and nail to maintain the strict prohibition on such utilitarian research, for they are far too aware of the ends to which such practices eventually lead. History doesn't let them forget.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23173002/

Continuing along on this topic, I heartily recommend (again) Jonah Goldberg's masterful book, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. He astutely puzzles out the M.O. behind the Nazi eugenics plan and accurately links it to the American Progressive movement's own coquette with racial purity schemes. The reader can't ignore the creepy similarities between the two movements. It makes for a sobering read.