Human Exceptionalism

WHEN CRITICS BEMOAN the politicization of science, they usually point a bitter finger at the Bush administration. Their condemnation should actually be aimed in the opposite direction. Increasingly, it is the scientists themselves—or better stated the leaders of the science sector—who are devolving science from the apolitical pursuit of knowledge into a distinctly ideological enterprise. The creation of a new Read More ›

IT HAS BEEN ABOUT two weeks since the international media excitedly declared to the world that Robert Lanza, head scientist at Massachusetts biotechnology firm Advanced Cell Technology, had derived human embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. The story sparked a media feeding frenzy, with newspapers and television stories around the world loudly applauding the advance as a way to circumvent Read More ›

Scientists at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) had indeed issued a press release claiming they could obtain stem cells by taking only one cell from an early 8-10 cell embryo, which, the release claimed, permitted the embryos to remain viable. (Conventional ESCR is conducted upon later-stage embryos at the 100-200 cell stage, which destroys the embryo.)  But upon closer investigation, it Read More ›

Click here to learn more about Discovery Institute’s Bioethics program. “NEW STEM CELL METHOD avoids destroying embryos,” the New York Times headline blared. “Stem cell breakthrough may end political logjam,” chimed in the Los Angeles Times. “Embryos spared in stem cell creation,” affirmed USA Today. Reporting the same supposed scientific achievement by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), the Washington Post quoted Read More ›

Wesley J. Smith discusses embryonic stem cell research with Derek Gilbert, host of The Drive on The Eagle 93.9 FM, Columbia, MO. In this brief clip, Smith outlines how he uncovered “one of the greatest cases in journalistic malpractice in recent years,” exposing the hype that mislead the mainstream media and, through them, the American public. Smith also speaks on Read More ›

OAKLAND – Alleged breakthrough research on embryonic stem cell lines is being oversold by the media to fit their ideological agenda, according to an article slated for next week’s Weekly Standard by prominent bioethicist Wesley J. Smith. “The American media too often act as advocates in the embryonic stem cell debate, rather than journalists,” says Smith. “As a result, they Read More ›

Human life is often regarded too cheaply in this world. But now in the People’s Republic of China, it may be getting quite expensive. According to a new and very chilling report issued last month by two eminent Canadian lawyers, the Chinese government may be murdering members of the Falun Gong religious sect and then selling their organs on the Read More ›

IT HAS BEEN REPEATED so often that it is now a mantra: “Embryonic stem cells offer the most promise for finding cures” for degenerative diseases and conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury. But saying something ten thousand times doesn’t make it true. Indeed, the embryonic stem cell mantra has yet to be demonstrated scientifically. More than that, Read More ›

A Concise History of Euthanasia by Ian Dowbiggin. Rowan and Littlefield, 176 pages, $22.95 To read Ian Dowbiggins’s A Concise History of Euthanasia is to learn that in more than a century of advocacy for euthanasia, the arguments have barely changed at all. The drive to legalize killing as an acceptable answer to the problems associated with human suffering is a relatively Read More ›

Wesley J. Smith was invited to the West Wing yesterday to witness the President’s veto of the embryonic stem cell bill. Smith, a Discovery senior fellow on bioethics issues, writes frequently for various magazines and newspapers, including The Weekly Standard and National Review Online, is promoting the theme of the unique importance of human life—of “human exceptionalism”. People are not like Read More ›

The Party of DeathThe Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Lifeby Ramesh PonnuruRegnery, 320 pp., $27.95 RAMESH PONNURU’S READERS already know that he is a political writer of considerable intelligence and skill. Now, in his first book, he demonstrates the talent to become an author of considerable influence. His prose is clear and to the point, Read More ›

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW what it feels like to wander into a Salvador Dali painting, try attending a conference of transhumanists. Case in point: the symposium “Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights” hosted May 26-28 by the Stanford Law School. Transhumanism is a radical movement emanating from the universities that seeks to enhance human capacities via technology. The ultimate Read More ›