March 21, 2007
I just found another area of dishonesty in S. 812, the bill that should be called “The Human Cloning Authorization Act.” Section 2(e) is entitled Voluntary Donation of Oocytes, meaning eggs. Indeed, Section II(e)(2) states: Prohibition on Purchase or Sale–No … Read More
March 21, 2007
Once again it is “pull the wool over their eyes” time in the United States Senate. My senator, Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and Utah’s Orin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced the dishonestly named “Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act … Read More
March 21, 2007
Euthanasia is antithetical to the philosophy of hospice care, which honors the intrinsic equal dignity of all people and promises to care for people to the end of their natural lives. One method by which this philosophy is carried out … Read More
March 21, 2007
Bobby Schindler is one of the finest, most decent people I have ever met. Over the years I have known him, I watched as he emerged, somewhat dazed, from a wholly private life as a high school teacher to becoming … Read More
March 20, 2007
Ah, the power of good lawyers and public scrutiny. After going to court, attorney Jerri Ward, attorney for Baby Emilio’s mother, just informed me that the Children’s Hospital of Austin has agreed not to remove life support until April 10. … Read More
March 20, 2007
Should a hospital ethics committee be empowered to decide in secret to withdraw wanted life-sustaining treatment? This is the heart of what I call Futile Care Theory, a.k.a, medical futility, which is being quietly pushed into official policy throughout the … Read More
March 17, 2007
I have been reading Ralph Nader’s The Seventeen Traditions, his autobiographical reflection on his parents, siblings, and upbringing. I know Ralph’s family pretty well. His sisters are as formidable as he is and his nieces and nephew are just as … Read More
March 16, 2007
Bioethicists Art Caplan and Michael A. Devita have written an important column warning against plans that are afoot to increase the organ supply, but which if enacted, would instead be more likely to undermine the already thin crust of trust … Read More
March 16, 2007
This story reveals an awful lot about the current state of Chinese society. A paralyzed woman wants euthanasia because she wants to die before her parents. Here’s why: I must die before my parents; otherwise I will live a miserable … Read More
March 16, 2007
A French doctor was convicted of euthanizing a cancer patient. Good. According to the BBC report, she was given a suspended sentence, after stating that she decided to resort to a lethal injection after Druais had told her that she … Read More
March 15, 2007
Dr. Albert Mohler, a national Christian leader, advocated in his blog a few weeks ago for what can only be described as the eugenic manipulation of fetuses–if and when it becomes possible–to prevent the babies from being homosexual. The blog … Read More
March 14, 2007
Apparently there has been a backlash against advertising with “suicide” themes. From the Seattle Post Intelligencer story: Washington Mutual has stopped running a spot that showed actors playing bankers poised atop a building as if about to jump. These ads … Read More
March 14, 2007
I love the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. In the last few days, it has poked fun at the embryonic stem cell/cloning debate. For a good laugh, check these out: Rat gets bored; the pitter patter of little feet, and … Read More
March 13, 2007
According to an article in the New Scientist, A simple formula can predict how people would want to be treated in dire medical situations as accurately as their loved ones can, say researchers. According to a study, surrogate decision makers … Read More
March 12, 2007
The Star Ledger (“the voice of New Jersey”) has an ESCR story out, byline Kitta MacPherson, which is, as usual, biased in the direction of promoting ESCR. A study has been published in Nature reporting that human embryonic stem cells … Read More
March 11, 2007
This story is a warning: Six developmentally disabled people have died in the UK, apparently, due to medical neglect, according to “Death by Indifference,” a report published by MENCAP, a Mental Disability Charity. From the Telegraph story: Dr Roger Banks, … Read More
March 10, 2007
I wrote a post a few days ago criticizing the decision by the board of directors of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to assume a position of “studied neutrality” on the crucial moral issue of physician-assisted suicide. … Read More
March 10, 2007
The Oregon Department of Human Services has issued its ninth, virtually meaningless report on assisted suicide (PDF). I say virtually meaningless because its statistical analysis depends almost entirely on death doctor self-reporting. Little noted in the media, which regurgitates these … Read More
March 10, 2007
In mice, Israeli scientists have apparently created a “miniature heart” using embryonic stem cells. If the story is right, the stem cells were morphed into the building blocks of heart cells, after which the scientists found a way of persuading … Read More
March 9, 2007
HumanLife Matters, Mark Pickup’s blog, is back after experiencing technical difficulties. Today, Mark riffs on how the culture of death is really discrimination against the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
March 9, 2007
This is the proper response to the legalization of assisted suicide: complete non participation by medical professionals at every level of care. Zurich University Hospital does not permit assisted suicides on premises. That is the honorable approach. If A.B. 374 … Read More
March 9, 2007
This is so ridiculous. Ethical guidelines are being drafted to protect humans from robot abuse and robots from human abuse. First, robots are inanimate objects. I don’t care how sophisticated or “intelligent” they become, they could no more be abused … Read More
March 9, 2007
Missouri’s universities will not have a life sciences building project funded due to the potential that the buildings would be used to conduct human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. While the media rails against cloning opponents, the real fault … Read More
March 9, 2007
I often describe the blatant biased reporting about the ESCR debate. But much of the problem isn’t bias–it is ignorance. Say a general beat reporter is directed by his or her editor to do a stem cell story. He or … Read More
March 8, 2007
Yes, we have a shortage of transplantable organs. But that does not in the least excuse this legislation in South Carolina to give reduced sentences to prisoners in return for agreeing to be an organ or bone marrow donor. No, … Read More
