Wesley J. Smith

We, the rich (compared to the rest of the world), the lovers of “choice,” the oh, so liberal and enlightened, seem to be moving toward a new form of colonialism. Only this time, it isn’t about copper mines or timber forests. It deals in human body parts (buying the organs of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Because the child survived with serious disabilities. But the Supreme Court of Washington-State threw it out. Good. Imagine if a court ruled that saving the life of a disabled baby could bring liability, but not saving the life of an able-bodied baby. Saving a life in such circumstances should not . . . . Continue Reading »

The New York Times obituary for Question 2 is interesting. It notes that ground had already been broken on building facilities to house research companies that would have been paid to do human cloning and ESCR with taxpayers’ borrowed money—but now won’t. Predictably, one of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Of course! But some think otherwise. Here’s the story in the San Francisco Chronicle, byline Sabin Russell:Evidence is building that an experimental AIDS vaccine given to 1,500 volunteers not only failed to protect those who received it, but may have put some of them at higher risk of . . . . Continue Reading »

What will they think of next? A company called C’elle, will—for a hefty fee, up to $1500 plus annual storage fee—collect and store women’s menstrual blood (“your monthly miracle”) and extract stem cells contained therein in case of future need. The company touts . . . . Continue Reading »

In a new experiment, nerve stem cells from infant mice were injected into mice with damaged brains, and appeared to restore memory. From the story:Tests showed stem cells, the body’s basic building blocks used for repair and growth, can turn into new brain cells and produce a chemical that . . . . Continue Reading »

The BBC has an inappropriate “right to die” headline over a story involving the tragic case of a woman who died after refusing a blood transfusion because her of faith as a Jehovah’s Witness. In fact, the woman did not want to die. And the story acknowledges the case actually . . . . Continue Reading »

I usually like Will Saletan’s writing, even though I also usually disagree with him. But I don’t get the gratuitous reference to Terri Schiavo in his musing about the surgery on the Indian girl to remove extra arms and legs. He wrote in Slate:Doctors are trying to fix a girl with eight . . . . Continue Reading »

I think we are so awash in “scientific studies”—many hyper-politicized or contradictory with other studies—that it seems to me that they offer little of value any more. For example, some researchers claim that calorie deprivation can extend lives. But a now verified study . . . . Continue Reading »

This is great news: The “blank check” mentality finally hit a wall as New Jersey’s voters said a big no to borrowing $450 million for human cloning and stem cell research. From the story: New Jersey voters rejected the state’s plan to borrow $450 million over 10 years to . . . . Continue Reading »