Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Rooting for Human Extermination

This is what I have been warning against if we reject human exceptionalism, which can lead to an embrace of radical misanthropy. Apparently, Eric R. Pianka, a (deep) ecology professor speaking at a science symposium in Texas predicted in hopeful terms the outbreak of an ebola pandemic that would . . . . Continue Reading »

Schiavo Still Divides Nation

Both the Schindlers—what a wonderful family—and Michael Schiavo have books out about the death of Terri. If book sales are any indication, the nation remains divided by the case. I have been tracking the Amazon book rankings of both books and they have remained within one hundred of each . . . . Continue Reading »

Schiavo: Hope versus Despair

I am not writing much about the Terri Schiavo case any more. Partly, this is because most people’s views about her death are now set in ten feet of concrete, and nothing I say or write will change it. And partly it is because there is so much about which to be concerned, that there just . . . . Continue Reading »

A Good Juxtaposition of Columns

I have a column in today’s Seattle Times against assisted suicide that urges readers to consider the context in which assisted suicide would be carried out. (It is a rewritten version of a piece that first appeared a few months ago in the Orange County Register.) I bring this up because the . . . . Continue Reading »

Hands Off Our Ovaries!

I know, I don’t have ovaries. But women do, and their eggs are becoming valuable commodities for biotechnological research. Obtaining eggs, however can be an onerous, even dangerous process. Indeed, two women have died in the UK donating eggs in the last year. And if cloning takes off, . . . . Continue Reading »

"Mass Euthanasia" Wasn’t

This story about a Japanese surgeon who is accused of “mass euthanasia” is misleading. The doctor is accused of removing respirators from dying patients with family consent. That is not euthanasia, at least as we use that term in the West, which refers to killing by some artificial . . . . Continue Reading »

Brief Reflection on Mexico

I just returned from a very rewarding and interesting, if short, trip to Mexico (Mexicali). I spoke to an overflow crowd at a medical school, and was gratified by the response and the clear idealism of the soon-to-be doctors. I appeared on Mexican television where the interviewer asked better . . . . Continue Reading »

Tags

Loading...

Filter First Thoughts Posts