Wesley J. Smith

Ian Wilmut, who supervised the team that cloned Dolly the sheep, is sad that human cloning hasn’t worked so far. But something else he said was unexpected and is interesting news: He believes that cell reprogramming—that is, reverting a cell from a differentiated state (e.g, blood, skin, . . . . Continue Reading »

The Scientist is having an on-line discussion about human cloning. Below are the questions The Scientist poses:Is the nuclear transfer challenge one of understanding or technique? It would seem that the scientific community presumes successful stem cell cloning is a matter of resources and technical . . . . Continue Reading »

This is good news indeed: Dr. Catherine Campisi, former director of the California Department of Rehabilitation has joined the effort against legalizing assisted suicide in California. From the press release:“Assisted suicide is a direct threat to anyone that is viewed as a significant cost . . . . Continue Reading »

If this were not about adult stem cells, it would be a much bigger story. But get this: Liver cancer patients whose liver was too far gone to have surgery, were able to have sufficient liver generated with the help of their own adult stem cells, to the point that they regenerated sufficient liver to . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, what do you know: Two reporters have connected a few dots about the assisted suicide issue. In this story, byline John Simerman and Cassandra Braun of the Contra Costa Times, note that while California is debating assisted suicide, we have a brewing elder suicide crisis on our hands. From the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Eureka Journal reported that the California Association of Physicians Groups supports the assisted suicide legalization bill A.B. 374. As I noted here at the time, that organization is a lobbying group representing the business and political interests of group physician practices, that is, it is . . . . Continue Reading »

I can disagree with people about political, social, and moral issues and still respect them. But when they resort to the kind of deceptions that permeate S. 812, the Feinstein/Hatch bill to legalize human cloning and pay women to procure eggs for use in research—which pretends to ban human . . . . Continue Reading »

This is an awful story: A man needs a bone marrow transplant to save his life, and the only suitable donor is his sister. But she won’t do it. Now, he will almost surely die.The law can’t force anyone to be altruistic, of course. It would be wrong to take her bone marrow by force. But . . . . Continue Reading »

I think that the hue and cry against non heart beating cadaver donor protocols—what I have called “heart death”— is misguided. And it reflects a misconception about the concept of “brain death,” a popular term for death by neurological criteria—which does . . . . Continue Reading »

Legislation soon to be introduced in New Jersey would require HIV testing for all mothers and babies. Good. AIDS has been treated as a political disease rather than an urgent matter of public health for far too long.Back in 2001, I wrote “Privacy that Kills” in the Weekly Standard about . . . . Continue Reading »