Wesley J. Smith

The inestimable Will Saletan writes in Slate about the late election and biotechnology. One need not agree with everything he asserts to know that the following is not only brilliantly written, but it is unquestionably true:“Meanwhile, the technology grows more complicated. Stem cells from . . . . Continue Reading »

Yes, once more we find that adult stem cells have great therapeutic potential, this time with Type 2 diabetes. But, we must not let such stories distract us from the orders laid down by our great science lords: Must...give...embryonic...researchers...blank...funding...check. . . . . Continue Reading »

Now, The Economist has editorialized that it is “brave” for UK doctors to want to open the door to infanticide for disabled babies. Why kill disabled babies, according to the magazine’s editorial writers? “Take the case of Charlotte Wyatt, born at 26 weeks in 2003 with severe . . . . Continue Reading »

For those yearning for or worried about the emerging Brave New World, the Center for Genetics and Society, a left-leaning think tank that grapples with the ethical issues involving biotechnology, has a new blog. Check it . . . . Continue Reading »

Belgium fits the typical pattern: Once euthanasia is legalized, the law tells the society it is not only legal, but right, and “use” increases. There are now 37 reported cases each month. And of course, all cases are not reported. Studies show this repeatedly. For example, in the . . . . Continue Reading »

My podcast, Brave New Bioethics, launches next week. I will link them here as they are released. But if you would like to subscribe and receive them via cyberspace as they come out, please do so by hitting this link and following the subscription instructions. The price is right: It’s free. Of . . . . Continue Reading »

John Derbyshire has responded in The Corner to my First Things blog entry chastising him for rejecting human exceptionalism along with his faith. He has every right to do so, of course. But he doesn’t have the right to mischaracterize my arguments. He claims I grant humans a special place . . . . Continue Reading »

This is the second story I have seen in the last two weeks along these lines. Apparently, the political-scientists’ intentional blurring of “stem cell research” with “embryonic stem cell research,” is chilling the way forward in areas that are not ethically contentious. . . . . Continue Reading »

I received an e-mail from a reader of Secondhand Smoke, gently chastising me for assuming that the amendment would not permit reproductive cloning. Her actual fear is that A. 2 would permit fetal farming, as the New Jersey law does. As we shall see, she was wrong about the fetal farming, but right . . . . Continue Reading »

Doctors are preparing to implant a uterus into a woman in the hope that she can have children. But is this ethical and wise? Usually, organs are transplanted to save lives, which is worth the risk of dying in surgery and having to spend a lifetime taking immune-suppressing drugs. But this is an . . . . Continue Reading »