It is a continuing source of astonishment and concern to me that so many “scientists” so fervently wish to knock human beings off of the pedestal of exceptionalism, and transform us into merely another animal in the forest, just one of the fauna, if you will. I bring this up because of . . . . Continue Reading »
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is again having trouble. It’s president and chief scientific officer, Zach Hall, has resigned for health reasons, while at the same time, its head consultant on funding construction projects has also quit. Beyond these personnel issues, there . . . . Continue Reading »
There is a proposal in Russia to permit euthanasia. One opponent. a doctor and member of the Duma, warns that legalizing euthanasia would be a way of “seizing organs:” From the story:If a law allowing euthanasia appears in Russia, the risk of criminal seizure of human organs sharply . . . . Continue Reading »
One of the most momentous decisions in medicine is the “do not resuscitate” order, or DNR. This doesn’t mean no treatment, nor does it mean no life-sustaining treatment. It means that if a patient suffers cardiac arrest, no CPR will be administered.Because DNR’s basically . . . . Continue Reading »
We hear from some, such as Dr. Sherwin Nuland, that what a doctor does or does not do at the bedside should be determined by the individual practioner’s personal conscience. This usually cuts from the side of permitting acts such as euthanasia—as Nuland asserted in the New England . . . . Continue Reading »
Now that Big Biotech has won elections in CA and MO, and the Bush funding policy is on the ropes, Big Biotech and their boosters in the media are changing their stories. Whereas before, it was about direct CURES! CURES! CURES!, now it is about basic research, which is touted as just as . . . . Continue Reading »
This video produced by my pals at the Center for Bioethics and Culture is a somber warning against harvesting women so that their eggs can be used in human cloning research. Egg donation can lead to serious infections, loss of fecundity, and even death. Regardless of whether one supports or opposes . . . . Continue Reading »
I have a book review of The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia posted on today’s First Things blog. The book is dry, but very good in its discussion of the legal issues, and not bad in explaining philosophical perspectives. I was disappointed, however, that the author Neil M. Gorsuch . . . . Continue Reading »
With the intrepid help of the Discovery Institute, I have just begun a new one minute radio commentary called BioScience Views, that is beginning to get around. We haven’t created a dedicated Web page for it yet, but if you hit this link, you can find them.Here are a couple of . . . . Continue Reading »
This terrible case of a girl giving birth and stabbing her baby to death raises a very important point. Some, like Princeton’s Peter Singer, believe that a newborn is not a person and so infanticide should not be a crime. A regular commenter here at Secondhand Smoke recently stated that there . . . . Continue Reading »
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