Bioethics
« Previous EntriesStem Cell Stories
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008Our friends at the Family Research Council have just posted an update on adult stem cell successes. Not simply statistics or lists of treatments, these are stories of real people who have experienced the benefits of adult stem cells. To cite but one example:
Jill Rosen was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, a form of lupus and [...]
Must Read Review
Monday, July 14th, 2008Adam Keiper of The New Atlantis and the Ethics and Public Policy Center reviews Michael S. Gazzaniga’s Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique in the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Gazzaniga does little to explore the implications of the research he describes. Once we have been armed with the latest scientific findings about how our [...]
AUL and Friends Comment on New York’s Stem Cell Plan: Fund Proven Cures and Treatments, Not Speculation
Thursday, June 19th, 2008The Empire State Stem Cell Board has drafted a strategic plan “to guide New York State’s $600 million, 11-year investment in stem cell research.” The New York State Department of Health has invited public comment on the plan, which is available at the New York State Stem Cell Science (NYSTEM) website.
While the goals of the [...]
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: Direct attacks on innocent human life are always gravely wrong
Monday, June 16th, 2008In its first statement devoted exclusively to the issue of embryonic stem cell research, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) last week firmly stated the following:
It now seems undeniable that once we cross the fundamental moral line that prevents us from treating any fellow human being as a mere object of research, there [...]
Will Women Sell Their Eggs? Researchers Want the Right to Buy Them
Friday, June 13th, 2008Having found that women are generally uninterested in going through a risky procurement procedure so scientists can use their eggs for cloning and embryonic stem cell research experiments, researchers are now calling for a repeal of state laws that currently ban financial payments for eggs according to the journal Nature.
To give a picture of how [...]
Adult Stem Cell Research: The Lead over Embryonic Research is Growing
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008One needn’t search hard for new breakthroughs in adult stem cell research. Even with the mainstream media strongly favoring embryonic stem cell research, stories of new cures, new uses, and new discoveries emerge on an almost daily basis. Around the world, scientists are broadening the lead adult stem cell research has over embryonic stem cell [...]
Western Australia Legislature Backing Adult Stem Cells
Friday, May 30th, 2008Science Alert Australia & New Zealand reports that Western Australia’s Upper House has rejected human embryonic stem cell research and human cloning.
Dr. Millet, director of Curtin University of Technology’s Centre for Applied Ethics and Philosophy explains why.
“The whole debate has changed, and it’s changed dramatically since the Yamanaka discovery because, while both his method and [...]
Drastic Reduction of Abortions in Michigan Demonstrate the Importance of Incremental Protections
Thursday, May 29th, 2008As life-affirming laws in Michigan increase, the abortion rates in Michigan continue to plummet. Michigan state health officials announced last week that the abortion rate in the state have dropped to a record low since record-keeping began in 1979. The current abortion rate shows a 50% drop since the peak in 1987, and a 3.7% [...]
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA): A Proposed Answer to Genetic Discrimination
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits employers and health insurers from discriminating against persons on the basis of their genetic information. The measure passed by a vote of 414-1 in the House and 95-0 in the Senate before making its way to the President’s desk.
The [...]
The Presidential Candidates on Life Issues
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008I’ve just discovered that our friends at bioethics.com have posted summaries of the candidates’ documented positions on stem cell research, cloning, human embryo research, abortion, and health care.
Democrat
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
Republican
John McCain
Share and Enjoy:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Ethical Stem Cell Research Proved Successful and Safe
Thursday, May 15th, 2008Dr. Jan Nolta and Dr. Gerard Bauer of University of California, Davis, have just released the results of their 10-year study on adult stem cell research. The breakthrough study shows that using human bone-marrow derived stem cells (i.e., adult stem cells and not embryonic stem cells) can be used safely and successfully to treat and [...]
Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act Introduced in Congress
Friday, April 25th, 2008Yesterday, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey introduced in the U.S. House the Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act, H.R. 5910. This bill would ban the creation of part-human, part-animal hybrid beings. Once unthinkable, human hybridization and species-tinkering is now underway despite its reckless disregard for human dignity and recognized ethical boundaries.
See the articles below [...]
The 2008 Presidential Election
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008As the 2008 Presidential Election approaches, we find ourselves struggling to determine which presidential candidate will best serve our country and hold fast to the principles and values we hold dear. One factor of increasing importance in this determination is a candidate’s position on abortion and life issues. How important is it for the pro-life [...]
Nebraska Joins Handful of States that Prohibit State Funding of Human Cloning
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008On Tuesday, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed into law LB 606, which prohibits the state funding of human cloning for any purpose.
Significantly, this bill prohibits the funding of both cloning-to-produce-children, as well as cloning-for-biomedical-research. Unfortunately, many states ban and/or prohibit funding only for cloning-to-produce-children, meaning that researchers can utilize cloning and create embryos without limit, [...]
Required Reading: Health Policy Interview
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008Discover has published an interview with Leon Kass, the former chair of the President’s Council on Bioethics, that is far ranging in its discussion of health policy issues. Touching on ethics, technological innovation, end of life issues, reproduction issues, stem cell research, therapy vs. enhancement, access to healthcare, and civic engagement, the interview is well [...]
Schedule for AUL Legal Institute Announced. Save the Dates June 23-26, 2008
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
AUL Legal Institute — June 23-26, 2008
Preliminary Schedule (subject to change)
Registration Coming Soon
Monday, June 23
9:00 — 9:15 am
Welcome
Daniel McConchie, M.A., Vice President & Executive Director, Americans United for Life
9:15 — 10:30 am
Abortion: The Ultimate Abuser of Women
TBD
10:45 — 12:00 pm
RU486 and the Coming Chemical Abortion Revolution
TBD
12:15 — 1:15 pm
Lunch with morning speaker (TBD)
1:30 — 3:00 [...]
The Embryo Conversation Continues
Friday, February 22nd, 2008Over the past couple of weeks a fascinating back-and-forth has been going on between the authors of Embryo: A Defense of Human Life, Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen, and Slate.com bioethics reporter William Saletan (see here).
The latest entry, by George and Tollefsen was posted today at National Review Online. It’s well worth your time.
Share [...]
Pope Benedict on Bioethics
Thursday, February 21st, 2008At the end of January, Pope Benedict gave an address to plenary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The full text of the speech is now available in English on the Vatican website.
His remarks on bioethics were near the end of the address:
I also ask you, dear friends, to pay special [...]
Required Reading: Banning Human Cloning, the Why and How
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Leon Kass, former Chair of The President’s Council on Bioethics, writes in the Weekly Standard on why it is time to ban human cloning, and how to go about doing it.
Despite the president’s numerous calls for action, we remain the only major nation in the high-tech world that cannot summon itself to ban human cloning, [...]
Embryo Reviewed
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008Sunday’s New York Times Book Review carried a review of Embryo: A Defense of Human Life. The reviewer, Slate.com’s bioethics writer/reporter William Saletan, is someone that I generally respect as a thoughtful writer, even though I don’t always agree with him. His review of Embryo, though, is an unusually poor showing.
In response to the review, [...]