April 6, 2007
Context. Context. Context. As editorial writers wax eloquent about how assisted suicide would just be about “choice” and managing one’s own end of life, story after story is being reported about how those on the margins are abused, neglected, and … Read More
April 5, 2007
Scientists are reporting that the wide size variety in dogs is caused by variations in but one gene. From the story in the Telegraph: Ranging from toy to giant, dogs have the biggest size variation of any mammal and the … Read More
April 5, 2007
Of course they are adult stem cell derived. From the CNN story: Cytori (down $0.02 to $5.62, Charts) is planning to launch its first stem cell medical device in Europe this year, said Eric Daniels, senior director of business development … Read More
April 4, 2007
One of the most insidious and selfish arguments of assisted suicide advocates is that pain control hastens death so that it is no different than assisted suicide. This can keep patients from accepting aggressive pain control and doctors reluctant to … Read More
April 4, 2007
Stories like this terrify the disability rights community–and with good reason. The message is that the lives of people with profound disabilities are of less value than those of others. In this case, an Australian couple murdered their disabled son, … Read More
April 2, 2007
When I read the transcript of this puff radio report from the Netherlands on the 5th anniversary of the formal legalization of euthanasia in that country (it has actually been permitted since 1973), I saw red. Dr. Herbert Hendin, has … Read More
April 1, 2007
If this works in animal testing, it could be a great breakthrough in the treatment of heart disease. Scientists have taken stem cells from bone marrow and, using a scaffold, engineered them into new heart valves. From the story in … Read More
April 1, 2007
Take this story as just one example: Scientists have used bacterial enzymes to convert one blood type into another, potentially ending the threat of blood shortages. There is a lot going on out there that is entirely laudable and has … Read More
March 30, 2007
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, … Read More
March 30, 2007
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 … Read More
March 29, 2007
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 … Read More
March 28, 2007
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 … Read More
March 27, 2007
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 … Read More
March 26, 2007
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 … Read More
March 26, 2007
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 … Read More
March 26, 2007
The Eureka Journal reported that the California Association of Physicians Groups supports the assisted suicide legalization bill A.B. 374. As I noted here at the time, that organization is a lobbying group representing the business and political interests of group … Read More
March 25, 2007
I can disagree with people about political, social, and moral issues and still respect them. But when they resort to the kind of deceptions that permeate S. 812, the Feinstein/Hatch bill to legalize human cloning and pay women to procure … Read More
March 23, 2007
This is an awful story: A man needs a bone marrow transplant to save his life, and the only suitable donor is his sister. But she won’t do it. Now, he will almost surely die. The law can’t force anyone … Read More
March 23, 2007
I think that the hue and cry against non heart beating cadaver donor protocols–what I have called “heart death”— is misguided. And it reflects a misconception about the concept of “brain death,” a popular term for death by neurological criteria–which … Read More
March 22, 2007
Legislation soon to be introduced in New Jersey would require HIV testing for all mothers and babies. Good. AIDS has been treated as a political disease rather than an urgent matter of public health for far too long. Back in … Read More
March 22, 2007
This is one medical endorsement that I welcome for assisted suicide because it reflects an important truth about the whole movement: It is about money and “treating” the most expensive patients with a lethal overdose. Talk about cost containment! Lest … Read More
March 22, 2007
I have read the bill several times now. Funny thing: Even though the title of the bill is “The Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Protection Act of 2007,” the bill never even mentions stem cell research except in the … Read More
March 22, 2007
A major reason that assisted suicide has not moved beyond Oregon in this country is that the Democratic Party remains divided about the issue–despite some of its more left leaning members seeking to transform the issue into a Democratic Agenda … Read More
March 22, 2007
I just went to Senators Orin Hatch and Dianne Feinstein’s Web sites to read their press releases on the introduction of S. 812, a bill that would legalize human cloning and authorize researchers to pay women to undergo egg procurement. … Read More
March 21, 2007
The Vermont House of Representatives just voted down the bill to legalize assisted suicide. The vote was 83-62. This is a real victory. Behind the scenes, it looked bleak for awhile. But here is a verite: The more people learn … Read More
