India Says No to Euthanasia

by Wesley J. Smith

There has been some agitating lately to legalize assisted suicide/euthanasia in India, of all places. Apparently, the government has turned a firm thumb’s down. . . . . Continue Reading »

31 Jul 2006 0

Jonathan Alter Gets it Wrong

by Wesley J. Smith

Jonathan Alter goes after Bush’s veto of the ESCR funding expansion bill in this Newsweek column. But he is ignorant about the actual policy, as demonstrated by this line, “No lab that receives federal financing can take part in embryonic-stem-cell research.”This isn’t true, . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Jul 2006 0

"The Great Stem Cell Coverup"

by Wesley J. Smith

I have a piece in the newly released Weekly Standard about “embryonic stem cell mantra,” and the lack of coverage about adult stem cell research advances. I think it requires a subscription to access, but here is the link (which may be generally accessible later).For those who . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Jul 2006 0

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help Heal Broken Bones

by Wesley J. Smith

Another apparent adult stem cell advance: A hospital in the UK is pioneering a treatment for people whose broken bones do not heal—perhaps preventing the need for amputations. From the Telegraph report:“Doctors at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, Shropshire, . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jul 2006 0

Mistakenly Declared "Brain Dead?"

by Wesley J. Smith

This story is a bit suspect. It claims that three Japanese nationals were declared “brain dead” in Canada and the USA, but later recovered after being transported back to Japan. The term “brain dead” is notoriously misused. For example, one of the patients was breathing on . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jul 2006 0

Treating UK Women as Harvestable Crops

by Wesley J. Smith

UK scientists are offering unfertile women thousands of pounds off the price of IVF treatments if they agree to “donate” their eggs for use in biomedical research—meaning cloning. The scheme was necessary because the human cloners did not have enough eggs to pursue their cloning . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Jul 2006 0

Pamela Winnick Getting Action Against "Dr Death"

by Wesley J. Smith

Regular readers of Secondhand Smoke will recall the trouble that author Pamela Winnick and her family were having with a few physicians they named collectively “Dr. Death,” who kept trying to pressure them into “pulling the plug” on her father. Here is the latest update from . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Jul 2006 0

Polling Data on Embryonic Stem Cell Funding Veto Not Such Bad News for Bush

by Wesley J. Smith

This poll by Gallup is a bit unfair in its wording, but what else is new? Still, I believe it shows what I have been thinking to be true; that the stem cell issue does not cut deeply.6. As you may know, earlier this week, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have expanded federal funding for . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Jul 2006 0

The Mother of a Down’s Child Takes on the New Eugenics

by Wesley J. Smith

This is a great column by lawyer Elizabeth R. Schiltz, published in Business Week. The mother of a Down’s child, Schiltz blisters the pressure people like her are put under to abort Down syndrome babies:“I’ve come to realize that many in the scientific and medical community view me . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Jul 2006 0

Fat Cells Can Turn into Muscle, Other Tissues

by Wesley J. Smith

I am not a scientist, but I believe I am a good analyzer of information. I keep reading that ESCR is necessary because of the need for stem cells used in medical treatments to be pluripotent, that is, capable of becoming any body tissue. This never made sense to me, since apparently adult stem cells . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Jul 2006 0