Wesley J. Smith

The Worst of Evils: The Fight Against Pain by Thomas Dormandy Yale University Press, 560 pages, $35 In 1983, my father, who was dying of colon cancer, underwent surgery. When I visited him after the procedure, I was aghast to find him lying in bed, clearly in agony, pressing an ice pack against his . . . . Continue Reading »

The last several years have been quite eventful in the field of biotechnology. President Bush was castigated for modest restrictions on federal funding of human ESCR and his policy is on the brink of being overturned. Several countries outlawed all human cloning. Some, like the UK moved full speed . . . . Continue Reading »

L.A. Daily News columnist Bridget Johnson has written a splendid column pointing out some of the many flaws with legalizing assisted suicide. Here is a sampling:Invariably, when society decides that some life is less valuable, less worth caring for, than other life, the results can be disastrous. . . . . Continue Reading »

This New York Times story about the poor treatment received by the elderly at the hands of long term health care insurers is important. From the story:Tens of thousands of elderly Americans have received life-prolonging care as a result of their long-term-care policies. With more than eight million . . . . Continue Reading »

In less than a year when I began keeping track, visitors to Secondhand Smoke have increased from 10,000 to the just hit 15,000-plus visitors each month. I am most pleased. Granted, it isn’t a Little Green Footballs or a Daily Kos, but I am happy. The issues with which we grapple here are among . . . . Continue Reading »

Ian Wilmut, who supervised the team that cloned Dolly the sheep, is sad that human cloning hasn’t worked so far. But something else he said was unexpected and is interesting news: He believes that cell reprogramming—that is, reverting a cell from a differentiated state (e.g, blood, skin, . . . . Continue Reading »

The Scientist is having an on-line discussion about human cloning. Below are the questions The Scientist poses:Is the nuclear transfer challenge one of understanding or technique? It would seem that the scientific community presumes successful stem cell cloning is a matter of resources and technical . . . . Continue Reading »

This is good news indeed: Dr. Catherine Campisi, former director of the California Department of Rehabilitation has joined the effort against legalizing assisted suicide in California. From the press release:“Assisted suicide is a direct threat to anyone that is viewed as a significant cost . . . . Continue Reading »

If this were not about adult stem cells, it would be a much bigger story. But get this: Liver cancer patients whose liver was too far gone to have surgery, were able to have sufficient liver generated with the help of their own adult stem cells, to the point that they regenerated sufficient liver to . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, what do you know: Two reporters have connected a few dots about the assisted suicide issue. In this story, byline John Simerman and Cassandra Braun of the Contra Costa Times, note that while California is debating assisted suicide, we have a brewing elder suicide crisis on our hands. From the . . . . Continue Reading »