What does the current debate over stem cells have to do with the concentration camps at places like Auschwitz and Dachau? More than you might think. When Allied troops liberated the few remaining prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps, they made some horrific discoveries. Among the records that survived of the gassings, burnings and shootings of millions of 'undesirables,' were graphic descriptions [...]
Ask the average person, "What do you think of embryonic stem cell research?" He may answer with certainty and a profound conviction that what he is saying is most obvious: "Look, anything that can cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or diabetes is incredibly good. Yes, I know that there's some controversy - you're not going to try to tell me those embryonic cells are [...]
Former Reform Party leader Preston Manning abandoned his pro-life position with his endorsement of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). Manning, science and technology critic for the Canadian Alliance was joined by Alliance health critic Diane Ablonczy in his annoucnement which also called for a ban on the creation of embryos for the purpose of research. Pro-lifers were disturbed that the critics urged [...]
The reaction to President George W. Bush's announcement restricting US government funding of embryonic stem-cell research to 60 existing stem cell lines has been widely praised as a suitable compromise with representatives from both sides of the debate-for instance, the National Right to Life Committee and stem-cell research advocates Mary Tyler Moore and Michael J. Fox-congratulating the president on his decision. But [...]
The expression of deep ethical concerns by the prolife movement parallels the development of contemporary "bioethics." Those ethical concerns relate to the death-dealing "shining wires" and controls hidden in the undergrowth of human determination, not only to heal but to achieve the unlimited perfection of the human race. That determination is eugenic in nature. Darwin is noted to have written, "We civilized [...]
Must decide whether to keep a firm campaign promise to pro-life voters LifeSite NewsAs U.S. President George Bush is about to release his decision on the use and funding of the destructive use of human embryos for stem cell experimentation, advocates and opponents are competing to have their voices heard. Pro-life groups have presented a unified front against the killing of this [...]
Beyond the visible horizon line of the United Nations Conferences during the 1990s, a group of internationally-based scientists, high-powered attorneys and government-associated ethicists bid in a high stakes game for access to the human person for research. Their mission, loftily described as the "ethics of life," has been the scientific "transformation of human beings by human beings." This not-so-new-game is conducted within [...]
Does not acknowledge that embryonic stem cells are unnecessary for medical progress In their recent paper on stem cell research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research acknowledges the existence of non-controversial sources of stem cells, including adult tissues, but maintains that they are not as useful as embryonic cells, which are derived from "left-over" embryos created through in vitro fertilization: "Recent evidence [...]
A Canadian moral theologian criticizes the use of new productive technologies when they leads to the objectification of people. Bridget Campion, assistant professor of moral theology at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto, told The Interim that recent uses of in vitro fertilization (IVF) have created a whole new moral problem that goes beyond how human life is created to the uses to [...]
Britain, meanwhile, is poised to allow cloning of humans By Paul Tuns U.S. President Bill Clinton issued an executive order August 23 reversing a prohibition on the federal funding of research performed on human embryos, a sure boon to those that see a promise of cures for various diseases in the deaths of the tiniest unborn children. In the last few years, [...]
Californians reject gay marriage California voters have said an emphatic "no" to the question of same-sex marriage. Results of the state's direct democracy plebiscite indicate that voters have turned thumbs down to a proposal that would give official sanction to homosexual unions. The plebiscite, which contained 31 propositions, asked for a yes or no vote to the proposal: "Only a marriage between [...]
By Winifride Prestwich The Interim A National Post article, "Patent office challenged over human cloning" (Feb. 22, 2000), mentions a United States Supreme Court ruling almost twenty years ago which gave "the green light" to patents on "living things." The article refers to the Court's ruling in Diamond vs. Chakrabarty, June 16, 1980. Briefly stated, these are the facts. (1) Amanda Chakrabarty, a microbiologist [...]
I sat down to write this column and as I was thinking about what to say, I realized that it was going to be in the January, 2000 issue of The Interim. Yes indeed, this would be my first column for the new year - and for a new millennium! And then, all of a sudden, I thought, "If there is a [...]
By Tim Bloedow The Interim Three years ago the Liberal government introduced a bill, C-47, to criminalize and regulate various aspects of the reproductive and genetic technologies industry, but the 1997 election was called before the bill could be passed. Despite repeated promises that they would reintroduce legislation governing reproductive technologies, the Liberals have yet to do so, and they have avoided [...]
By Tim Bloedow The Interim Three years ago the Liberal government introduced a bill, C-47, to criminalize and regulate various aspects of the reproductive and genetic technologies industry, but the 1997 election was called before the bill could be passed. Despite repeated promises that they would reintroduce legislation governing reproductive technologies, the Liberals have yet to do so, and they have avoided [...]