Wesley J. Smith

The social forces set in motion by those who believe it is proper to manipulate the genetic traits of our children, are becoming increasingly apparent. Now, as reported in a column by Dr. Darshak M. Sanghavi in the New York Times, some people with disabilities are pre-selecting their offspring to . . . . Continue Reading »

Remember the play Little Shop of Horrors and the alien plant keeps demanding, “Feed me!” This is now the mantra of Big Biotech. In country after country, state after state,and locality after locality, lobbyists for the biotech industry, their research allies/business partners at . . . . Continue Reading »

While reading the story in The Economist about the neural stem cell research success, which I just blogged, I also noticed this important description of the research process, which, notwithstanding the assertions of animal liberationist ideologues, illustrates the acute need to use animals, . . . . Continue Reading »

I consider The Economist to be the world’s best weekly news magazine. I often disagree with its perspective, but its journalism is usually top notch. (For example, it was one of the only news outlets to report the great Advanced Cell Technology’s ES Cell Non Breakthrough correctly.) . . . . Continue Reading »

It is interesting that Peter Singer’s approval of a monkey brain experiment is big news in the UK, but virtually ignored here. In this piece, the Independent points out (correctly) that Singer’s approval of the monkey experiment is not really a change, but a different expression of his . . . . Continue Reading »

The human cloners want thousands and thousands of eggs to try and win the Nobel Prize by becoming the first scientists to successfully clone a human embryo and derive embryonic stem cell lines. (Remember, Wu-suk Hwang used more than 2000 eggs to derive zero stem cell lines.) But the cost of this . . . . Continue Reading »

I love it when those who think they are smarter than the great unwashed, who at least believe in something rather than nothing, presume to talk down their noses—but are the ones who actually get it wrong. Atheist crusader, Sam Harris, is apparently one such advocate. I bring this up because I . . . . Continue Reading »

A broad based coalition of disability rights activists, pro lifers, and family members of ill patients are planning to pressure the Texas Legislature to change its ridiculous futile care law that permits hospital ethics committees to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment. The hospital associations . . . . Continue Reading »

Human exceptionalism seems so self evident to me that I am somewhat nonplussed that it is even considered debatable. Yet, a growing chorus adamantly deny that humans are entitled to a special status. But many would-be exceptionalism debunkers seem to be skeptical as a means of achieving a particular . . . . Continue Reading »

A reader of my recent article in National Review Online about Peter Singer’s approval of research conducted on monkeys, misunderstood me as perhaps not caring about cruelty to animals. I care very much about such matters, of course, and mentioned in my reply that treating animals humanely is a . . . . Continue Reading »