The Ethics of Genetic Control

Joseph Francis Fletcher (1905- 1991) 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. The author of many books, he was the first professor of medical ethics at the University of Virginia and cofounded the Program in Biology and Society there. In 1974, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. He served as president of the Euthanasia Society of America (later renamed the Society for the Right to Die) from 1974 to 1976.