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

Laboratory Limits that are not Limits

Laboratory researchers have been able to extend the time they can keep a human embryo alive in the lab from nine days to 13 days. Now many are asking, “Why not go beyond the 14-day-post-fertilization limit that has governed this research to date?” Why, indeed? If the embryonic human being—in . . . . Continue Reading »

What’s So Bad About Editing DNA?

We cannot alter a person’s DNA without disrespecting the intentions of the Author and Creator of human life, Matthew Hennessey recently argued. To support this claim, he offered an account of what it means to be an editor: “When I edit, I attempt, to the extent possible, to conform my work to the author’s original intent. I know I must resist the temptation to rewrite every piece to suit my own ear.” For Hennessey, editing is about improving someone else’s writing, not about the editor exerting his or her own preferences. Continue Reading »

The Right to Die in Massachusetts

Massachusetts voters are considering an assisted suicide law.  I do not deny the right of the states to create this type of legislation; better there than through federal law or mandate.  I can be an American citizen and remain one while moving from a state whose laws I do not condone to . . . . Continue Reading »

Tags

Loading...

Filter First Thoughts Posts