Wesley J. Smith

I don’t know why anyone would be surprised by this story. Assisted suicide advocacy rests on two fundamental ideological premises: First, that we own our bodies and it is the “ultimate civil liberty” to decide on the time, manner, and place of our own demise. Second, that killing . . . . Continue Reading »

Fossil evidence has been found that the earliest humans cared for—rather than abandoned or killed—their disabled young. From the story:The discovery of the oldest known infant born with a skull deformity hints that, contrary to popular belief, early humans might not have immediately . . . . Continue Reading »

Fossil evidence has been found that the earliest humans cared for rather than abandoned or killed their disabled young. From the story : The discovery of the oldest known infant born with a skull deformity hints that, contrary to popular belief, early humans might not have immediately abandoned or . . . . Continue Reading »

Today is “Terri’s Day.” It is the fourth anniversary of the end of Terri Schiavo’s ordeal of death by dehydration. This cruel end was not a necessary death. It was forced upon her by judicial fiat even though she was not terminally ill, did not require a respirator or kidney . . . . Continue Reading »

Today is “Terri’s Day.” It is the fourth anniversary of the end of Terri Schiavo’s ordeal of death by dehydration. This cruel end was not a necessary death. It was forced upon her by judicial fiat even though she was not terminally ill, did not require a respirator or kidney . . . . Continue Reading »

The always wonderful Canadian bioethicist Margarette Somerville has a terrific and thoughtful article about dying, disability, and the great meaning that can be found in these times of difficulty. It’s a long piece and I can’t do justice to it—for that you will have to read it for . . . . Continue Reading »

Great news from a behind the scenes source: I have just been told that SB 1114, the bill that would have explicitly legalized futile care theory in Idaho, has died for the year. It almost snuck by, but when opponents learned about it, they mounted an 11th hour campaign to prevent passage. That . . . . Continue Reading »

Oregon’s Health Services Commission has published the list of covered treatments under the state’s rationed Medicaid law. Comfort care is high on the list, and includes assisted suicide. But the overseers of rationed care explicitly state that treatment to extend life if the prognosis . . . . Continue Reading »

Philip Nitscke is the Australian answer to Jack Kevorkian who has spent years as a media darling opining that “troubled teens” should have access to suicide pills, teaching people how to commit suicide, creating the “peaceful pill,” a concoction of everyday products that can . . . . Continue Reading »

I thought I would look at a few of the statistics for SHS this evening. I am pleased. In the last 30 days, we have had more than 45,000 visits by some 36,000 distinct visitors. That’s about the size of a good crowd at Dodger Stadium. And the dailies are up a couple of hundred a day over a . . . . Continue Reading »