Very true. But what this neglects to say is that the heirs of the eugenics movement in America, which was led by such people as Margaret Sanger and the Rockefellers, are now almost all on the left. They are the believers in "scientific progress," in state control over the individual, and in the desirability of eliminating the children of the poor and minorities. A major influence on their beliefs was Darwin's general theory of evolution.
The most powerful of their descendents belong to the Population Control movement, closely linked to the abortion movement, and represented by such organizations as Internation Planned Parenthood, UNFPA, and NARAL.
However, not surprising that The Oregonian tries to put all the blame on the Nazis--which is liberal shorthand for conservatives.
Recommended reading: "In the Name of Eugenics : Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity," by Daniel J. Kevles -- read in conjunction with The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National Socialism, by Stefan Kuhl for additional information Kevles glosses over.
It's a common mistake for people to say that the U.S. got our population control/eugenics/racism/sterilization etc., from Germany -- Germany got them from us.
And, yes, the Nazis were the Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiter-Partei, the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Left-wingers.