Wesley J. Smith

The health care stories out of the UK are getting worse and worse.  Most First Thoughts readers have probably never heard of the “”Liverpool Care Pathway,” a palliative regime being adopted by hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices throughout the UK, under which dying . . . . Continue Reading »

The UK’s Liverpool Care Pathway has apparently killed its first (reported) victim.  The Pathway treats dying patients as members of a category instead of as individuals. Rather than give patients the individualized treatment their respective symptoms and conditions warrant, the Pathway . . . . Continue Reading »

I have long believed that the contentious issue of abortion funding could scuttle Obamacare. Proponents know that too, of course, and have played a game of hide the ball to pretend that abortion won’t be funded.They deny the subterfuge.  But there is a way to be sure; simply explicitly . . . . Continue Reading »

President Obama repeatedly promised during the campaign and after his election, that he would not raise taxes on people with income under $250 K.  But the Baucus bill would impose an excise tax on “Cadillac” insurance policies as a way of subsidizing insurance for other . . . . Continue Reading »

Adult stem cells continue to demonstrate remarkable capacities. Now, bone marrow stem cells have been used to make a jawbone joint.  From the story:Scientists have created part of the jaw joint in the lab using human adult stem cells. They say it is the first time a complex, anatomically-sized . . . . Continue Reading »

Many hospitals and nursing homes in the UK have adopted something called the Liverpool Care Pathway, in which dying patients are sedated—whether or not they need it to control unrelievable pain, apparently—and then denied food and water until death.Currently about 16.5  percent of . . . . Continue Reading »

Hollywood loves euthanasia/assisted suicide, generally presenting the issue in a positive light, perhaps most notoriously in Clint Eastwood’s “better dead than disabled” Oscar winner, Million Dollar Baby .  But last night’s Medium was an exception to the rule. It . . . . Continue Reading »

Credit where credit is due: The NYT presented a fair story —complete with personal profiles—of the most provocative segment of the pro life movement; the in-your-face street protesters. Even their overt Christian motivations were treated respectfully. This is a remarkable media moment, . . . . Continue Reading »

Today, the New York Times printed a fair, even sympathetic, story about pro life street protestors—profiling three of them.  From the story, byline Damien Cave:Action means many things to abortion opponents. Lobbyists and fund-raisers fight for the cause in marble hallways; . . . . Continue Reading »

The BBC , of all media outlets, has broken ranks on the global warming hysteria, with a fair and balanced report about some of the reasons why we have seen no warming in ten years, despite computer projections to the contrary.  Global cooling, anyone? . . . . Continue Reading »