February 13, 2007
This is such a joke: As I posted a bit ago, the International Society for Stem Cell Research has published a set of ethical guidelines to govern ESCR. Well, I opine–as I am wont to do–on the matter in the … Read More
February 13, 2007
This time, the Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez is co-sponsoring the bill to legalize assisted suicide in California. Oh well: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Back to the battlements to defend decency and ethics in medicine!
February 13, 2007
A study of British doctors found that some doctors admit they deem elderly people “less deserving” of optimal care. This is not unexpected. The signs have been there for years. From the story in the Telegraph: Doctors in Britain regularly … Read More
February 13, 2007
The poignant letter reproduced below is from the mother of a woman who died donating eggs (for IVF). The death of Jacqueline belies the smug assertions being made by would-be human cloners and their advocates that women who donate eggs … Read More
February 12, 2007
The assisted suicide fanatics are at it again in the UK, getting behind the lawsuit of a woman who wants to die. Apparently Kelly Taylor, a woman with a terribly painful heart and lung condition, is suing to be given … Read More
February 12, 2007
This story is unremarkable–in the sense that adult stem cell advances are so ubiquitous. Apparently human adult stem cells have rebuilt muscle tissue in mice, moving the technology toward potential treatment for muscular dystrophy. Not yet ready for human trials, … Read More
February 12, 2007
Science is becoming so unscientific these days, akin in some minds to ideology–or even religion. Lest you doubt it, consider changes being contemplated by the new “pro science” Kansas Board of Education. In essence, members are planning to do to … Read More
February 12, 2007
It looks as if we are beginning to enter an era of age discrimination in health care. As is usually the case in matters such as this, the perniciousness enters on the back of what may be deemed a reasonable … Read More
February 12, 2007
The Wall Street Journal (no link available) reports that scientists are treating wounded Iraqi War veterans with a substance from pigs that seems to resurrect the ability to regenerate organs and other body parts–an ability possessed by fetuses but lost … Read More
February 12, 2007
In this Daily Standard column, David Klinghoffer, my colleague at the Discovery Institute, notes that it has been 100 years since eugenic sterilization was first legalized in the USA. He also points out that while Darwin opposed discriminating against the … Read More
February 11, 2007
60 Minutes had a horrendous story on tonight’s show of a mentally ill prisoner, in jail for shop lifting, who was chained to his bed for many hours each day and allowed to dehydrate to death by clearly negligent prison … Read More
February 10, 2007
A UK doctor wants to legalize kidney markets to ease the organ shortage. Of course, people in his social class will never threaten their own health by being sellers. They will be buyers. Opening the door to exploiting the poor … Read More
February 9, 2007
When I had the great honor of interviewing Dame Cecily Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement, she criticized the American “way” of hospice, noting that unlike the UK, we had created a system where hospice is seen as an … Read More
February 9, 2007
A bi-partisan bill is being introduced in the House of Representatives to outlaw the patenting of human genes. It doesn’t have a number yet. Here is what it states: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no patent may be obtained … Read More
February 9, 2007
Some politicians have no shame, and methinks we have to now include Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., to that list. Reacting to a story about high levels of autism in NJ, the good Senator said. This report only strengthens my … Read More
February 9, 2007
James Thomson, who first derived human embryonic stem cells, is a man of integrity. I disagree with him on the ethics of the issue, but he always tells it like it is. For example, where some cloning advocates claim that … Read More
February 9, 2007
Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, who tried to legalize assisted suicide last year and will again this year, has another pet cause: Outlawing the sale of incandescent light bulbs in the Golden State. So in Levine’s world, a doctor should be able … Read More
February 8, 2007
And so, what I call biotechnological colonialism continues. Now. the Times of London is reporting, British would-be parents are traveling to India to buy embryos for implantation and birth. From the story: The booming industry has attracted criticism on ethical … Read More
February 8, 2007
I am published today in the First Things blog about the Swiss court ruling permitting assisted suicide for the mentally ill. I point out that the Dutch Supreme Court issued a strikingly similar ruling more than ten years ago and … Read More
February 8, 2007
The Chinese Government is being advised to experiment with euthanasia in preparation for full legalization in coming years. Why are we surprised? A nation that sells the organs of executed prisoners and has a eugenics public policy, is probably not … Read More
February 8, 2007
I have a piece in today’s NRO about Ashley’s Case. The article was written a few weeks ago when the story was hotter, but I think it remains worth our contemplation. In the column, I worry that Ashley was used … Read More
February 8, 2007
Missouri is beginning to feel the folly of passing Amendment 2. One of the law’s provisions prevented the legislature from refusing to fund embryonic stem cell/human cloning research, if other areas of stem cell research is financed. I warned that … Read More
February 8, 2007
Heart patients in Texas will be receiving infusions of their own adult stem cells found in fat, as a method of helping to regenerate damaged heart tissue. This technique has shown good results in animal studies and at least one … Read More
February 8, 2007
This is great news: The bill to legalize assisted suicide in Hawaii is apparently close to failing. What makes this so impressive is that a few years ago it came within two or three votes of passing the legislature and … Read More
February 8, 2007
The media are making a pretty big splash about a New England Journal of Medicine study, which measured doctors’ willingness to refuse desired services if it violated their personal moral codes. From the story: Based on the findings, the researchers … Read More
