Wesley J. Smith

I reported on this story previously from a different angle, e.g. the need for using animals in basic medical research. But this picture is so amazing, that I thought the breakthrough was worth revisiting to discuss the biotechnological implications.To recap: scientists created a new beating heart . . . . Continue Reading »

Mmm-mmm, . . . . Continue Reading »

The attempt by animal rights activists to grant animals the right to sue in their own names has been rejected in Texas. From the story:A Texas appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision that nine chimpanzees and monkeys that were brought to the Primarily Primates sanctuary in 2006 don’t . . . . Continue Reading »

If this allegation is true, it is beyond the pale: A mentally ill paraplegic man is suing a hospital for discharging him and dumping him in his hospital gown on a grate in skid row. From the story: Gabino Olvera, 42, sued the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for negligence after it discharged . . . . Continue Reading »

Readers of SHS will remember the controversial case of Ashley, the profoundly disabled girl whose uterus and breast buds were removed, and who was given hormones to keep her from growing to normal size. Ashley’s parents became proselytizers of sorts, for “Ashley’s treatment,” . . . . Continue Reading »

Lawrence Tribe is a Harvard law professor who has been suggested as a possible Supreme Court nominee if the Democratic Party retakes the White House. In other words, he is Establishment Law, not somebody on the fringe. In researching for my book, I just came across a journal article, taken from a . . . . Continue Reading »

A peer reviewed study claims to have created the first human cloned embryos, actually, the first cloned embryo. No stem cells derived. I warned readers that the iPSC breakthrough would redouble efforts among some scientists to successfully clone human embryos, and predicted that the derivation of . . . . Continue Reading »

No surprise here: The UK’s “we never say no” Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has okayed the attempt to create cloned human embryos using cow eggs. The reason for this approach is the dearth of human eggs, the reasons for which we have discussed here before at . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, apparently the people of the United Kingdom weren’t too comfortable with their bodies being deemed organ sources unless they explicitly opted out of being a “donor.” How else explain PM Gordon Brown’s walk-back of his support for presumed consent? Good. In the . . . . Continue Reading »

I write regularly for the Center for Bioethics and Culture Newsletter. This week, I have a piece on the new eugenics that threatens the lives and well being of the elderly and people with profound disabilities. Here is an excerpt:Around the world, profoundly disabled or terminally ill people are . . . . Continue Reading »