Wesley J. Smith

The Arizona Republic has a story that puts the price of eggs for use in fertility treatments as high as $24,000. Imagine the potential price if cloning becomes ubiquitous. Indeed, it would drive the trade in eggs to the destitute countries and the establishment of a bio colonialism that would . . . . Continue Reading »

The use of cellular treatments for human ailments is growing. In this treatment, muscle tissue from the arm was used as an effective treatment for incontinence. And, since the tissues are biocompatable with the patient—being the patient’s own cells—no problems with rejection that . . . . Continue Reading »

While I was testifying in person before a Senate subcommmittee last week about assisted suicide, I was also asked to submit written testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, which is considering a bill to toughen the law against animal rights terrorism. The testimony deals primarily with the . . . . Continue Reading »

I think this story is less important than it might seem. The Telegraph is reporting that terrorism by animal rights extremists has backfired politically, creating sympathy and support for the proper use of animals in medical testing. That is well and good. But the terrorists won’t care. They . . . . Continue Reading »

This story describes a medical research protocol that will determine whether patients with heart attacks and congestive heart failure can be helped with their own bone marrow stem cells. The difference between stem cell treatments and existing therapies is profound: “The potential new benefit . . . . Continue Reading »

A recent story in the Weekly Standard by Fred Barnes about Governor Matt Blunt stated that he (Blunt) supported the pending Missouri initiative to legalize “stem cell” research. Of course, that isn’t accurate. I wrote a letter to the editor about it, which Barnes graciously . . . . Continue Reading »

The bioethics news out of the UK keeps getting worse. Now, according to The Sunday Times, doctors are performing late term abortions because of minor anomalies that could be surgically corrected, such as having club feet. Last year a baby was aborted at the 28th week because imaging showed it had a . . . . Continue Reading »

I just checked the NIH site to see the funding levels for stem cell research. Here are the actual numbers for fiscal year 2005: Human embryonic, $40 million; non human embryonic, $97 million; Human, non embryonic, $199 million; and, non human, non embryonic, $273 . . . . Continue Reading »

I just got home from a transhumanism conference (“Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights”)being held at Stanford through tomorrow (Sunday). Among the items I learned today are: Feminist bioethics supports genetic engineering so that men can be altered to have babies and women . . . . Continue Reading »

The world’s foremost proponent of infanticide, Peter Singer, argues in the Guardian in favor of granting legal rights to great apes and perhaps other animals. Among the rights these animals should possess, he claims, is the right to life. Yet, the same Peter Singer has written that killing a . . . . Continue Reading »