Humanity is in Genetic Decline

New paper:

Fitness, Mutational Load, and Eugenics
Matthew J. Maxwell

In 2016 geneticist Michael Lynch published a perspective in Genetics arguing that human physical and mental performance is declining at a rate of 1% per generation (Lynch 2016a). ... because medical interventions, such as “surgical procedures, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and physical and psychiatric therapies” have mitigated the effects of selection on “bad genes,” the incidence of deleterious mutations (mutational load) in the human population has, and will continue, to rise.

Lynch is not a fringe figure in the genetics community. He is former president of the Genetics Society of America, ...

The paper says this would lead to eugenics, and he is against that. He also disagrees with the reasoning.

Lynch avoided a policy recommendation:

What will it take to promote serious discourse on the slowly emerging, long-term negative consequences of policies jointly promoted by political, social, and religious factors? Should such a discussion even be pursued or should the process of accelerated genetic change simply be allowed to run its course — a slow walk down the path to what Hamilton (2001) called ‘the great Planetary Hospital’?”

No serious discourse is likely. I do not know what it would take.