Wesley J. Smith

The media and many scientists treat the ESCR/human cloning debates as if they were scientific in nature, rather than about ethics and philosophy—which cannot be determined by the scientific method. Now, a scientist writing in Nature, of all places, makes the same point. (I take no position on . . . . Continue Reading »

The Dutch apparently have a real problem with suicidal desires. According to this story, there are nearly 100,000 suicide attempts each year, with about 1,600 resulting deaths. From the story: “The official figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) indicate that 1,600 people actually commit . . . . Continue Reading »

This is a disturbing story in the Los Angeles Times: A doctor is under investigation for overdosing an organ donor with pain medication to hasten his death in order to procure organs. If so, it is a terrible breach of organ donation ethics and a profound act of wrongdoing.We should not prejudge the . . . . Continue Reading »

I reported earlier on the mainstream media’s jumping to over blow a story of process mistakes made by Dr. Catherine Verfaillie, with regard to the potential that she derived pluripotent adult stem cells from bone marrow. My point was further verified today when the San Francisco Chronicle . . . . Continue Reading »

"Choice" my foot: If the new bill to legalize assisted suicide in California (A.B. 374) becomes law, Catholic nursing homes will be legally required to permit assisted suicide to be committed within their premises, even though doing so would be a profound violation of Catholic moral . . . . Continue Reading »

Some doubts (and aspersions) have been cast about my interpretation of A.B. 374, which I detailed in a Secondhand Smoke post and over at First Things. One commenter called my interpretation “convoluted.” Well, true—but only because of the way the legislation is written.Here it is . . . . Continue Reading »

The transhumanist guru, James Hughes, grouses about an essay apparently written by Rich Hayes of the Center for Genetics and Society. Hayes and the Center are definitely and firmly on the political and pro choice left. But since he and it oppose the new eugenics of transhumanism, Hughes accuses . . . . Continue Reading »

In a poll taken last year, but there is no reason to think it still isn’t valid. By 65-23%, California’s Latino’s oppose assisted suicide. So does LULAC, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. Let’s hope that the California Assembly and Senate pay heed . . . . Continue Reading »

The Dutch continue to demonstrate how euthanasia pushes a country’s ethics into a moral free fall. The current government apparently plans to stress palliative care. No, says Mark Rutte, the leader of one of the primary opposition parties! From the story: “Rutte says the new government . . . . Continue Reading »

I have written some more about the requirement in California’s A.B. 374, which would legalize physician-assisted suicide, that Catholic nursing homes, in-patient hospice facilities, and other health care providers permit assisted suicide to take place on premises. It is over at the First . . . . Continue Reading »