Wesley J. Smith

Ironies upon ironies: The current governor of Oregon, John Kitzhaber is a big fan of his state’s assisted suicide law. But he opposes the death penalty, even though the people of that state have twice voted to retain it.  And when a death row inmate named Gary Haugen rejected K’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Human trials are ongoing for chronic spinal cord injury using adult stem cells. Now, the FDA is approving a human safety trial using patients’ own spinal cells for acute spinal cord injury—the kind of injury sought to be improved by the now defunct Geron embryonic stem cell human trial. . . . . Continue Reading »

Many First Thoughts readers have heard that a business in Colorado obtained a preliminary injunction against Obamacare’s “Free Birth Control Rule,” based on the provisions of a federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  But what most . . . . Continue Reading »

I posted the other day about a federal judge granting a preliminary injunction against the “Free Birth Control Rule” to Hercules Industries and its owners, the Newman siblings, because it impinges on their freedom of religion as protected by Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  . . . . Continue Reading »

Sigh. So many big brains seem to spend so much time pondering the likelihood and consequences of a pending human immortality. Not. Gonna. Happen.But I want to focus on one aspect of this issue and demonstrate how it points to human exceptionalism.  Over at Huffington Post Science, George M . . . . Continue Reading »

How about some good news for a change?  In the UK, a woman named Lyndsey Crowder was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. She decided to risk risk her own life to bring her baby into the world. Four years later, both are doing fine.  From the Daily Mail story:A women with cancer who . . . . Continue Reading »

Today, the power of the Feds to dictate health care coverage nationally is being wielded to force “free coverage” for women’s “reproductive” medical and consumerist services.  And the radical Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Pelosi are bragging about their power of . . . . Continue Reading »

My beautiful wife, Debra J. Saunders guest hosted Dennis Miller with me in tow.  If you’d like to have a bit of a listen, hit this link, and then hit the audio link. Yes, our marriage . . . . Continue Reading »

Arizona recently passed a law outlawing abortion after the 20th week—except in a maternal “medical emergency,” based on the potential that the fetus can feel pain at that age of gestation. My friends at the Bioethics Defense Fund have announced that, with their assistance and . . . . Continue Reading »

Ross Douthat, the only truly conservative NYT op/ed columnist (which may be why he usually runs on the back page of the Sunday opinion section), echoed much of what I have written here and elsewhere about how “freedom of worship” is attacking freedom of religion.  He gets . . . . Continue Reading »