Wesley J. Smith

I am now convinced that the opening salvo for pushing medical futility to the forefront, which I have been predicting for several years was on its way, has begun. This note was sent to me from Elizabeth Graham of Texas Right to Life, which I reprint here with her permission. Remember, this is just . . . . Continue Reading »

The drug that may have awakened patients diagnosed with PVS is the sleep aid Ambien. The American Journal of Bioethics Blog gives more details, although I must say, they don’t seem too pleased at the . . . . Continue Reading »

If actually true, this story, published by the usually reliable Guardian, is amazing: Three patients who were unconscious for years in diagnosed persistent vegetative states (PVS), awakened after being given a certain sleeping medication. They interacted with their environment. And then, after four . . . . Continue Reading »

A few studies have looked into the emotional toll on doctors who participate in euthanasia and assisted suicide. This peer reviewed article makes it clear that mercy killing not only hurts the killed, but often the doctors who participate in the . . . . Continue Reading »

The controversy surrounding the declaration of the death of 14-year-old Michael J. Todd by neuorological criteria is over. The family obtained a second opinion and learned, to their sorrow, that their boy was indeed dead. The allegations of insensitive remarks made by a doctor have been denied by . . . . Continue Reading »

This is getting so huge: The Telegraph is reporting that animal rights extremists are going to hold a terrorist training camp to export their terror campaign throughout Europe. Included will be lethal means of fighting for “self defense.”The time has long since past for those in the . . . . Continue Reading »

As readers of Secondhand Smoke and my other writing know, I am trying to raise public awareness of futile care theory (medical futility), which I see as a profound threat to patient autonomy and the concept of equal moral worth among all human beings. The disability right movement “gets . . . . Continue Reading »

As I blogged a few days ago, the Brits are increasingly permitting embryo selection based on explicitly eugenic criteria. The deep-thinking journalist Will Saletan is on the case in . . . . Continue Reading »

Mike Wallace is a big euthanasia supporter and a fan of Jack Kevorkian. Yet, he admits in an upcoming interview upon his retirement from 60 Minutes, that he suffers depression and once attempted suicide. According to the advance PR blurb published in the Drudge Report, Wallace says that the years . . . . Continue Reading »

The tragic case of a teenage boy catastrophically injured in a shooting accident is all over the WEB. Apparently the boy was wounded in the neck and later declared dead by “neurological criteria,” with the University of Kansas Hospital insisting on removing life support and taking the . . . . Continue Reading »