Human Exceptionalism

Like Fr. Neuhaus, I too was taken with the article “I’m Not a Saint, Just a Parent” by Simon Barnes in the Times of London. It recalled to my mind a speech I gave several years ago to a medical school in which I urged the students to always look at their patients through the lens of universal moral equality. After the speech, Read More ›

Bio Science Views Commentaries Discovery Institute Bioethics Program Brave New Bioethics podcast featuring Wesley J. Smith Sample radio commentaries by Discovery senior fellow Wesley J. Smith BSV #1 1:16, 1.2MB BSV #2 1:12, 1.1MB BSV #3 1:16, 1.2MB BSV #4 1:10, 1.07MB BSV #5 1:12. 1.1MB BSV #6 1:18. 1.19MB To inquire about broadcasting Bio Science Views contact Robert Crowther Read More ›

SCIENTISTS SHOULD BE UP IN ARMS against “science advocates” who undermine the reputation of science by engaging in deception, obfuscation, spin, and hype to win the political debate over embryonic stem-cell and human cloning research. The latest such low blow comes from the Houston-based Alliance for Medical Research, a non-profit educational organization with informal ties to the Baylor College of Read More ›

The push to permit infanticide has entered the mainstream. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology (RCOG) has recommended that a debate be had about whether to permit “deliberate interventions to kill infants.” The recommendation, which was widely reported in the media, was in response to a query from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics concerning ethical issues pertaining to health Read More ›

Yes, the world is getting warmer, but the Earth does this roughly every 1,500 years, and we cannot stop it. The good news is humans and most other species tend to do better during the warm periods. There is a wonderful new book, “Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years,” by distinguished climate physicist Fred Singer and award-winning environmental economist Dennis Read More ›

Title: Are We Defining A Brave New Future Where All Human Life Is Not Protected? Click here to listen. Are we headed for a brave new world where unconscious people are treated as if they were simply biological machines? Wesley warns that we maybe headed down that path, even though today most people believe “that treating people as mere things Read More ›

Oakland –— Brave New Bioethics is a new podcast reported by Discovery Institute senior fellow and nationally acclaimed bioethicist Wesley J. Smith. Listeners can tune into the first episode on Tuesday, November 14 at the podcast homepage http://bravenewbioethics.podomatic.com. In each episode Smith will explore the many policies and proposals in bioethics, bioscience, and animal liberation that threaten the idea of Read More ›

This article, published by Investor’s Business Daily, quotes Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley J. Smith: “A story that doesn’t validate the stem cell mantra that embryonic stem cells offer the ‘best hope’ for future cures isn’t worth much attention,” writes leading bioethics critic Wesley Smith in the Weekly Standard. The rest of the article can be found here.

John Derbyshire, the popular writer for National Review Online , recently published a “self-interview” disclosing how and why he lost his faith . Generally, I would not comment on such a personal matter or criticize anyone’s internal struggles. But Derbyshire went further than just to reject his former Christianity. He also attacked the crucial notion that human beings have a Read More ›

DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THOSE HEADLINES? “Stem Cells Used to Create Artificial Liver,” the New York Times screamed on its front page. “Breakthrough! Stem Cells to One Day Create Organ for Liver Transplant,” was how the Washington Post put it. “Stem Cell Breakthrough Demonstrates Viability of New Science,” yelled the Los Angeles Times. “Stem Cell Hope for People Read More ›

Below are two links to archived audio of Wesley J. Smith’s recent radio appearances discussing stem cell research and public policy in Wisconsin and Missouri. Charlie Sykes talks with Smith about recent political ads featuring Michael J. Fox. Newsradio 620 WTMJ (WI) Derek Gilbert talks with Smith about Michael J. Fox and Amendment 2. The Eagle 93.9 KSSZ (Columbia, MO)

In the new novel “Hunters of Dune,” biotechnologists of the future create “ghoulas” — clones made from the dead — in breeding contraptions known as “axlotl tanks.” About 100 pages into the novel, the reader is shocked to learn that axlotl tanks are really unconscious women whose bodies have been expropriated to serve the greater good as so many gestating Read More ›