Archive for the ‘General Bioethics’ Category

The Baby-Face of Bioethics

“I don’t know.” This was the advice Dr. Mark Mercurio, director of the Yale Pediatric Ethics program, gave to a room full of Yale University bioethics students in a lecture on how neonatologists should find their way through ethical quandaries. It is not that he is unqualified. Quite...
July 8th, 2009 | Bioethics, End of Life Issues, Family Issues, General Bioethics | Read More

Brown and the Blight of British Bioethics

Back in 2006, I provided testimony before a committee of the Illinois state legislature on research involving embryo-destructive research and “therapeutic” cloning. At the time I was shocked by the complete unfamiliarity these legislators had with the basic concepts underlying the issue they...
May 22nd, 2008 | General Bioethics, Stem Cell Research | Read More

Bailey and the Bioconservatives

The American Spectator has published an article I wrote on transhumanism, biotechnology, and Reason science correspondent Ronald Bailey. An excerpt: Bailey makes a similar sneaky acknowledgement using carefully selected language. “It is true that the proposed human animal cybrids would contain...
March 28th, 2008 | General Bioethics, Stem Cell Research | Read More

Why Pro-Life Presidents Matter

What if I told you the only significant influence the President has on the economy is in selecting the Chairman of the Federal Reserve? While the role of the president in “managing the economy” is often overstated, most serious voters would rightly dismiss such a narrow claim as absurd. Yet...
February 21st, 2008 | General Bioethics | Read More

Of Mice and Men (and Other Chimeras)

For those concerned about threats to human dignity, news from the bioethical frontier is almost always depressing and reminiscent of bizarre speculative fiction. For example, events in the UK last week have reminded me of an obscure novel by the French writer Vercors. You Shall Know Them begins just...
September 11th, 2007 | General Bioethics | Read More

Evangelical Bioethics and the Web

No matter how many times a blogger trashes the press–and I’ve done more than my share of MSM bashing–they are always excited to see the URL of their blog printed in a national newspaper. True, in the past I’ve said that newspaper coverage was overrated. But that was when I was mentioned...
March 17th, 2007 | General Bioethics | Read More

Biology, Behavior, and Gay Babies:
Why Sexual “Orientation” is Ultimately Irrelevant

Dr. Albert Mohler has been under fire recently for his suggestion that a biological basis for homosexuality may be proven, and that prenatal treatment to reverse gay orientation would be biblically justified. Some on the right, including Christians, are upset that he would concede the obvious point that...
March 16th, 2007 | General Bioethics | Read More

Dignity as a Litmus Test:
Why I’m a Single Issue Voter

The primaries are still months away, yet conservative Congressman Jim Nussle of Iowa is already coming out in support of Rudy Giuliani. In a note to Rich Lowry at National Review, Nussle wrote: ”Perfect” has become the enemy of the “good”, and we saw that borne out during this past November’s...
February 1st, 2007 | General Bioethics | Read More

Blogs4Life Online Symposium

[Note: In preparation of the upcoming Blogs for Life Convention, FRC Blog and Pro-Life Blogs is hosting an online symposium. I encourage all pro-life bloggers who are able to participate and to attend the conference, either in person or through the live webcast. More information on the event can be found...
January 9th, 2007 | General Bioethics | Read More

Being a Person:
Why Personhood is Not Enough

A person is not always a human being, but is a human being always a person? Examples abound of non-human persons: Christians believe that the Godhead consists of “three Persons of one substance.” U.S. judges have ruled that corporations are “artificial persons.” The Spanish Parliament...
July 27th, 2006 | General Bioethics | Read More