Wesley J. Smith

It took the Dutch about 20 years to get to the point from accepting euthanasia to countenancing infanticide. It has only taken the Belgians a few years to jump off the same vertical moral cliff. Not unexpectedly—and this isn’t the first such report—eugenic infanticide is now . . . . Continue Reading »

I wish I could say that I could not believe my eyes: Craig Wilson of USA Today interviewed PETA biggie Dan Matthews, and did not ask one substantial question. What about PETA’s refusal to condemn violence in the name of animal liberation? Not asked. Are Matthews and PETA at all concerned about . . . . Continue Reading »

This study demonstrates an important point: Hospice care can extend life because, relieved of much suffering by proper care, patients can actually live longer than if they were not receiving such treatment. From the story: “This [the study’s results] should be reassuring to those faced . . . . Continue Reading »

This kind of story sends a chill. Doctors at a Fresno hospital wrongly declared a patient to be dead by neurological criteria (a.k.a. brain death) when he wasn’t actually dead, resulting in a near harvesting of organs from a living patient. Luckily, the mistake was caught in time. The man died . . . . Continue Reading »

Here is the statement issued today by the White House about the passage of Senate Bills 5 (overturn Bush funding policy) and 30 (fund “alternative” approaches). Agree or disagree with the Bush policy, I think this point made by the President is absolutely true: My policy unleashed an . . . . Continue Reading »

S. 5, the bill to overturn President Bush’s embryonic stem cell funding policy passed, one vote (if everyone had showed up) short of a veto override margin. It also does not have enough votes in the House for an override, so it is not going to be enacted—for now. Eventually, when the . . . . Continue Reading »

I checked the New York Times to see if they reported the great news that human diabetes patients have been effectively treated for their disease with adult stem cells. The Gray Lady only carried a muted report by the AP. Had this been an embryonic stem cell success, the story would have reaped huge . . . . Continue Reading »

Leon Kass’s piece in Commentary, about which I posted earlier, also contains some very good prose about a philosophical approach to human exceptionalism. He writes:It is indubitably clear, even to atheists, that we human beings have them [attributes of God in biblical religion such as . . . . Continue Reading »

I believe Leon Kass to be one of our most profound and wise public intellectuals. He comes through again in the current edition of Commentary magazine (no link available) in an article entitled “Science, Religion, and the Human Future.” Much about which he writes—the tension . . . . Continue Reading »

I have long believed that futile care theory will be the next big political battle in bioethics. It is generally ignored by the media—which on one level is understandable because the media are news driven—but on the other hand is not understandable because it is like ignoring an army . . . . Continue Reading »